Max Verstappen went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, beating the Williams pairing of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz by less than a tenth of a second. Championship leader Oscar Piastri was 14th while team-mate Lando Norris was seventh as McLaren appeared to struggle in a session dominated by running on Pirelli's C6 Soft tyre. 

At the start of the session there was brief yellow flag when Franco Colapinto spun his Alpine at Turn 2 as he embarked on his first flying lap. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton then took top spot with a lap of 1:17.018s, but Max Verstappen quickly moved ahead with his first lap, a 1:16.067. on his first tour with the C6s. However, the Dutchman was unhappy with his car, reporting that that its steering wheel felt "very heavy".

After Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli had an off at Turn 6, reporting that he suffered with rear locking, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved ahead of Verstappen with a time of 1:13.885. However, the Monegasque driver was soon out of the session. On his next flyer, the Ferrari driver locked up on the approach to Turn 3 and though he tried to avoid an incident, he smeared the left side of his Ferrari across the edge of the barriers at Turn 4, causing significant damage to his car. 

After a nine-minute delay the action resumed and after Hamilton became the next drive to spin, at Turn 10, Verstappen returned to the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:13.863 set on the C6 Softs. 

Track evolution was now beginning to become a factor and Mercedes’ George Russell moved a chunk clear of the Dutchman, posting a lap of a 1:13.535, 0.328s quicker than Verstappen's earlier benchmark.

The Red Bull driver wasn’t in the mood to be deposed, however, and after Williams’ Carlos Sainz briefly took top spot, the defending champion once again returned to P1 with a lap of 1:13.193. Sainz’s team-mate Alex Albon then climbed to P2, just 0.039s off the champion and four hundredths ahead of the Spaniard as Williams got off to a positive start. 

Behind the top three, Russell clung onto fourth place, three tenths off Verstappen, with Hamilton in fifth. Isack Hadjar got Racing Bulls off to a good start with sixth place and a best time of 1:13.631, 0.438 off top spot. The French driver was separated from team-mate Liam Lawson by McLaren’s Lando Norris, who session was regularly punctuated by wayward moments as he struggled with the handling of the MCL39. It was a similar story for Norris’ team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri, who ended up in 14thplace. 

Behind Lawson Pierre Gasly was ninth for Alpine, and the unfortunate Leclerc ended the session in 10thplace thanks to his opening lap. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:13.193 28 214.495
2 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:13.232 0.039 28 214.381
3 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:13.275 0.082 31 214.255
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:13.535 0.342 29 213.498
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:13.620 0.427 30 213.251
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:13.631 0.438 31 213.219
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:13.651 0.458 30 213.162
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:13.737 0.544 30 212.913
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:13.817 0.624 29 212.682
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:13.885 0.692 9 212.486
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:13.927 0.734 27 212.366
12 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:13.972 0.779 25 212.237
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:14.002 0.809 30 212.151
14 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.198 1.005 28 211.590
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:14.203 1.010 25 211.576
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:14.324 1.131 30 211.231
17 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:14.520 1.327 30 210.676
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:14.605 1.412 23 210.436
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:14.645 1.452 29 210.323
20 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:14.821 1.628 28 209.828