Kimi Antonelli topped the practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes one-two. The session was marked by multiple incidents, including a collision between Alex Albon and a groundhog.
Albon’s Groundhog Incident
Alex Albon crashed heavily after being unable to avoid a groundhog on the exit of Turn Seven. The British-born Thai driver slid down the barriers, causing heavy damage to his car. Williams team principal James Vowles described the incident as one of the risks of the circuit.
“It’s one of the risks of this circuit. I know that sounds strange,” said Vowles. “Unfortunately there’s been a few of these. He [Albon] has hit a marmot [groundhog]”
There have been a number of incidents where drivers have collided with groundhogs at the Canadian Grand Prix. One such incident last year involved Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
Practice Session Disruptions
Albon’s incident caused one of three red flags during the session. Liam Lawson stopped on track with a loss of steering caused by a hydraulics leak, triggering the first red flag. The final red flag was caused by Esteban Ocon, who crashed his Haas after spinning on the exit of Turn Four.
Mercedes Upgrade Shows Promise
Antonelli, who leads Russell by 20 points in the drivers’ championship, was 0.142 seconds quicker than his team-mate. Russell needed two attempts to get close to Antonelli before spinning and lightly tapping the wall at the start of a third effort, but without damage to his car.
A major upgrade package to the Mercedes appeared to have a significant effect. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, 0.774secs off the pace, followed by team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen was fifth fastest, 0.964secs off the pace, ahead of both McLarens. Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri.
McLaren’s Front Wing Upgrade
McLaren have the second part of two upgrade packages. The team have spread the upgrades over this race and the last one in Miami. Norris became the first driver this season to beat a Mercedes in qualifying or race when he won the sprint race from pole.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team’s upgrade package centred on a front wing. He described it as a “significant upgrade”, adding: “There is a lot to review but we are happy so far.”
- Kimi Antonelli led the practice session.
- Alex Albon crashed after hitting a groundhog.
- Mercedes introduced a major upgrade package.
Qualifying for the sprint race is at 21:30 BST (16:30 local time) on Friday.