F1 Canadian GP live commentary and updates - free practice
Follow along for updates from the Canadian Grand Prix's practice session
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That's it for now, we'll be back for sprint qualifying - so we'll catch you then!
Lawson has also been summoned to the stewards - it appeared that, with his car stranded on-track, the stewards were unable to reset the clutch.
Since the neutral button needs to work, Racing Bulls will have some explaining to do...
And that's your lot from practice - a wild session with three red flags.
Mercedes seems to be a step ahead of the rest, so there's plenty of work for the others to do ahead of sprint qualifying.
To compound Ocon's misery, he's been noted for leaving the pits under the red light.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Jordan McKean / LAT Images via Getty Images
We've got a resumption coming for some practice starts - but that's likely to be it.
So, Antonelli, Russell, and Hamilton will be your top three, with Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Lindblad, Hulkenberg, and Alonso (!) as your top 10.
Ocon's hit the wall - and we'll get another red flag as there's a bunch of debris down at Turn 4/5.
He ran across the exit kerbs, but the rear just got away from him and put him into a spin.
He trundles back to the pits, but the Haas is missing a nosecone. From a technical standpoint, it should be attached to the car.
"We suggest manual deactivation of straight mode," Piastri is told, with the suspicion that his lock-up came before the airflow could reattach to the rear wing.
Verstappen gets up to fifth, but almost a second off the Mercedes.
Russell has had a spin at Turn 2, and just nudges the wall - he's back up and running, but that's the end of those tyres.
Russell takes another go and gets closer to Antonelli this time, it's a 1m14.544s.
Norris has also had a stab at a lap, but it's not really very good; he went wide at the hairpin and is 1.3s down.
Big lock-up for Piastri during his soft-tyre run, ruining his purple middle sector. He had to escape across the run-off there.
Russell also locked up in Turn 1, with the bump a bit problematic for him there.
Hamilton's about to have a crack at a soft-tyre lap.
Antonelli sets a 1m13.402s, 0.448s clear of Russell. The Italian found a bunch of time in that final part of the lap, where Russell struggled with traction out of the hairpin.
Russell sets a 1m13.850s, having lost a bit of time in the final sector. It's still good enough for top spot, but Antonelli's about to have a go on the red-walled tyres.
It's a pretty clear track at the moment, so he's got almost no traffic.
Hamilton moves up to third, 0.36s behind Antonelli's effort. Russell, meanwhile, is about to have a tilt on softs...
The blue lights - something the FIA is testing in this session at the back to denote a car running at a lower power level - looks like a jet of blue flame. There's something a bit Wipeout 2097 about it...
There's also a purple light for cars at 0kW of motor power, and yellow for superclipping.
Gasly has a wide moment at Turn 8 and clips across the grass.
"I keep getting these weird snaps a lot with the lower gear downshifts, it's like the diff opens," Verstappen says. The Red Bull driver had an off at Turn 8 too, while Norris clipped the grass at Turn 3.
Russell now finds a 1m14.444s, as the Mercs find even more time. Antonelli's also pushing, and goes a smidgen quicker with a 1m14.392s - even with a bit of a moment down at Turn 8.
Russell finds a tenth to post a 1m14.560s, putting 0.4s on Piastri now. Norris moves up to fourth, 0.23s off his team-mate's best.
Bottas stops in his pit garage with an issue, which isn't great for Cadillac's data gathering.
Antonelli sets a 1m14.670s to go top, as he finds a lick of pace.
We've got the two Astons and the Cadillac of Perez on softs, with Bottas and Lindblad on mediums. Everyone else has the same hards they started with.
"Steering has suddenly got a lot heavier," Verstappen reports, as he remains on the same hard tyres.
Russell gets within 0.013s of Piastri, as Leclerc moves to third.
So, as it stands, we've got Piastri from Hamilton, Russell, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hadjar, Leclerc, Norris, Albon, and Sainz in the top 10.
Not that practice times mean anything, but it might be interesting!
And it's groundhog day...again - we get up and running once more. 15 minutes added on to cover off the red flag, so we've still got 36 minutes on the clock.
We appear to be clear, so we should be up and running in two minutes' time.
No news of a restart just yet, although I believe Albon's car has been cleared. Best wishes to the family of our marmot friend.
Reported updates in Montreal
McLaren: front wing, engine cover, cooling louvres, halo winglet, rear wing endplate, rear suspension fairings, floor edge devices.
Mercedes: front wing, front upright aero, floor, and rear corner aero
Red Bull: front wing, brake ducts, floor bib, engine cover slot
Ferrari: none
Williams: front brake ducts, front suspension fairings, exhaust trumpet
Racing Bulls: floor, rear corner, beam wing, exhaust bracket
Aston Martin: none
Haas: sidepod inlet and sidepod geometry, floor, rear suspension fairings, rear brake drums
Audi: front brake ducts, diffuser, cooling louvres, rear brake ducts
Alpine: Floor geometry, rear wing
Cadillac: front corner and brake ducts, diffuser
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Jordan McKean / LAT Images via Getty Images
Albon's had a shunt at Turn 7, that's a red flag. His rear wing is missing an endplate, with an off-kilter rear wheel. It appears he's gone in at the front and then the rear went around on him.
Avoidance of a marmot appears to be the root cause.
Piastri sets a 1m14.963s to go almost 0.5s clear at the top.
Ocon then complains about his car grounding out, finding the car unable to deal with the bumps around the circuit.
Russell moves up to first for a brief moment, 0.002s clear of Verstappen, but Piastri then sets a 1m15.806s.
In retaliation, Russell then sets a 1m15.760s to reclaim top spot. Hamilton moves up to fifth ahead of Hadjar.
Confirmed power unit issue for Colapinto too, while Lawson was stuck in gear with a suspected hydraulic issue.
Russell moves up to third for the time being, as Verstappen's time remains the benchmark for now.
Yes, it's an extender! Free practice will be lengthened by four minutes to cover off the red flag from earlier.
...and we're back up and running. Piastri, Albon, and Bortoleto get us going once more.
Lawson's car has been removed, so we'll get going again very shortly...
"They're pushing a little bit, especially in the lower gears, but the locking is much better," Verstappen reports to Lambiase's question about downshifts.
Session red flagged, as Lawson's car can't be recovered as-is.
Lawson's come to a stop at the exit of Turn 4 and gets out of the car. He had an issue at Turn 2, and the car sounded like a tractor after that.
A VSC is called to ensure the VCARB can be recovered.
Norris has a lock-up into Turn 13, so that's his opening effort scotched. Antonelli got within a tenth of Verstappen, who also had a near-miss at the exit of Turn 7.
Piastri then sets a 1m16.879s, and there's plenty more time to find - which Verstappen duly demonstrates with a 1m15.895s.
Everyone is on track now, most on hard tyres as they attempt their early data-gathering exercises.
Colapinto is very slow here, reporting that his throttle isn't working. Sudden power loss on the back straight, and the car limps back to the pitlane.
Piastri kicks us off with a 1m19.489s, but Verstappen opens with a 1m17.432s.
Practice in Montreal begins
Here we go! Plenty of practice starts, then, as the Audis, Lindblad, and Alonso kick us off. Expect everyone to emerge nice and early, as we've only got an hour of practice.
Update-watch
Lots of updates for McLaren and for Mercedes - new front wing and floor for Merc, while McLaren has a new front wing and a few bits of new bodywork too.
Haas and Audi have also brought a series of additional parts. We'll dig into those when we get a moment.
15 minutes until practice
Not long until we get our first look at Montreal. Will we see any groundhogs or other wildlife, as is customary in Canada?
We can't wait to find out!
Piastri flattered by Red Bull interest rumours
McLaren Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri says Red Bull's interest in him as a plan B if Max Verstappen leaves is "flattering", but the Australian denies any knowledge of it.
Earlier this month, Autosport revealed Piastri is on Red Bull's radar as a long-term replacement for Verstappen, should the Dutchman decide to leave the team.
The four-time world champion has been disillusioned with F1's new regulations and said he had "life decisions" to make after a flawed start to the 2026 rules cycle.
Over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, several sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that a push to get Piastri was on the table in the scenario that the team lost its four-time world champion, whether by switching to another outfit, taking a sabbatical or leaving F1 altogether.
Verstappen: F1 future more positive with 2027 changes
Max Verstappen's grievances over the current rules in F1 have been relatively well known, and has always said he hoped for “bigger changes” heading into 2027. The switch to a 60-40 split between mechanical and electrical power aligns with what he had in mind.
"I mean, it's definitely heading into a very positive direction,” the Dutchman said. “I think it's like the minimum I was hoping for, and I think it's really nice that that's what they want to do. That's definitely what I think also the sport needs.”
Asked whether it helps convince him to remain in F1 next year, the four-time world champion continued:
"Yes, definitely. I mean, I just want a good product in Formula 1 and that will for sure improve the product."
