In Montreal, Mercedes dictates the law. Antonelli flies in the free practice, Russell in the Sprint. Ferrari fifth and sixth with Hamilton and Leclerc
The 2026 Formula 1 season confirms, once again, Mercedes as the protagonist. In the free practice at 6.30pm for the Canadian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli set a time that left everyone speechless: 1:13.402, a benchmark that the competition is unable to come close to. George Russell, on the other silver arrow, can’t keep up with him: the Italian beats him by 142 thousandths. Ferrari follows with Lewis Hamilton at a good seven tenths, Leclerc at almost a second. A clear domain, also the result of the updates brought to Canada which seem to work perfectly, also eliminating the only gaps shown so far (those in the start).
A Ferrari of lights and shadows
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is not a friendly track, at least in theory, for the Red. Montreal rewards the power units and penalizes those who don’t have that extra fuel on the straights: Ferrari knows this, even if this weekend, for now, it remains the second force almost until the end of the sprint qualifying. The objective, in fact, is to remain as close as possible to Mercedes, but it will not be easy to keep Red Bull and McLaren at bay, who in recent years, when the real battle has heated up, have always been able to bring out something truly special.
An x-ray of results in Formula 1
In the sprint qualification, the results of the previous races did not change much. George Russell wins pole ahead of Antonelli, front row all Mercedes. Then the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri. Hamilton, who seemed to be on the ball in SQ1 and SQ2, gets lost with the red tyre: a couple of mistakes “condemn” him – if one can say so – to fifth place. Leclerc, on the contrary, never finds the rhythm and closes behind the Englishman. Verstappen gets a sad seventh place, confirming Red Bull’s mediocrity.
In SQ1 Hamilton was the fastestwith Leclerc even ninth. Perez, Stroll and Gasly out. Red flag with one minute and 46 seconds to go due to Alonso’s accident: the Aston Martin driver surprisingly moves up to SQ2, but is left without a car and is forced not to take part in the following session.
The sensations of Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli he is not one hundred percent satisfied, but still appears confident. He confesses to Sky Sport that he made a mistake in the first sector: «I decided to go the first lap, on the soft tires. But the tire wasn’t ready, it was cold, and then on the second lap I didn’t make good use of the grip. However, I got second position without being far away: I’m satisfied because I expected worse. In free practice, with the changes brought to Canada, the starts were better, so we need to capitalize on tomorrow’s race. I think the changes have been positive. There’s still a bit to understand about the update package, because the balance has changed a bit anyway, but I have to say that it’s working well, so now let’s see: tomorrow is another day and I can’t wait to get back on track.”
The next events of the Formula 1 weekend will see a Saturday full of speed: the third sprint of the championship is scheduled for 6.30pm, while qualifying will start at 10pm. Finally, the most awaited appointment will be Sunday 24 May at 10pm, when the race will finally take place in Montreal.
