FP1: Antonelli leads Russell as Mercedes dominate disrupted Canadian GP practice session

Kimi Antonelli led Mercedes team mate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the sole Free Practice ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, in a session disrupted by three red flags.

Antonelli enters this weekend with a 20-point lead in the title race from Russell and immediately made the most of Mercedes' substantial upgrade package, the teenager's 1m 13.402s leaving him just over one-tenth clear of Russell, as Hamilton was more than seven-tenths in arrears.

With just a single, one-hour session before Sprint Qualifying later on Friday, drivers and teams were keen to learn as much as possible and all 22 cars headed out on to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as soon as the lights at the end of the pit lane turned green at 1230 local time.

Problems struck Franco Colapinto's Alpine inside the opening five minutes, with the Argentinean stating "my throttle is not working" over the radio having just made it back to the pit lane, where the team worked to rectify an electrical issue on the power unit.

Drivers began exploring the limits of the 2.71-mile circuit from the outset, with Norris sailing into the run-off area at the final chicane, while Verstappen dipped a wheel on to the grass at the exit of Turn 7. The Red Bull driver was setting the early pace, though, occupying P1 with a 1m 15.895s on the Pirelli hard tyre approaching the 10-minute mark when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

Liam Lawson's session ended almost before it even began as the New Zealander brought his Racing Bulls machine to a halt through Turn 5 with a mechanical issue, with his stricken car recovered under a short red flag and four minutes of additional time added to the session duration.

As action resumed, Piastri was another driver to skip the final chicane and Hamilton briefly cut across the grass through the Turn 8/9 chicane as there remained a general lack of grip with the circuit still incredibly dirty.

After 20 minutes, Russell headed the order on a 1m 15.760s before being bested by Mercedes team mate Antonelli, the young Italian posting a 1m 15.414s. Piastri became the first driver to dip below the 1m 15s mark, the McLaren driver lowering the benchmark to a 1m 14.963s on the hard tyre as a second red flag was deployed after nearly 25 minutes.

Alex Albon's session ended on the exit of Turn 7 after hitting a groundhog, causing significant damage to his Williams with little time for repairs ahead of Sprint Qualifying. The session was extended by a further 15 minutes due to the delay as the majority of drivers continued with the hard tyre once the track went green.

The Mercedes drivers began trading fastest laps in their own personal battle, with Antonelli lowering the best time down to a 1m 14.392s on the hard. There were further excursions as Norris cut across the grass at the Turn 3/4 chicane before regaining the track unharmed, as did Verstappen at Turn 8 and Antonelli also went deep at Turn 1.

Russell became the first of the leading runners to use the soft tyre with just over 15 minutes remaining, and comfortably went quickest on a 1m 13.850s as Antonelli followed up with a 1m 13.402s, which finished as the session-best.

Russell ran deep at Turn 1 with his next effort and cut the track before eventually improving and then suffered a spin, tapping the barrier at Turn 2 before rejoining unharmed.

Esteban Ocon suffered a bigger crash, destorying the nose of his Haas when colliding with the barrier head-on after spinning on the exit of Turn 4, with a third red flag deployed to recover the debris. Ocon was also noted for passing a red light at the end of the pit lane as the session resumed for less than one minute.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Verstappen and Norris trailed the Mercedes, as the top 10 was completed by Piastri, Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.

Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto led Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Ocon, Albon and the second Williams of Carlos Sainz. The order was completed by Pierre Gasly (Alpine) in P16, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Lawson, Haas' Ollie Bearman, the two Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, as Colapinto finished last having not setting a time.