Canadian Grand Prix: Friday recap; Russell on pole for Sprint Race

Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was eventful, as F1 returned after a three-week hiatus following the Miami Grand Prix. Throughout the day, there were four Red Flags, and Mercedes came soaring back into the mix late in the Sprint Shootout, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli ending things with a one-two finish after Lewis Hamilton dominated the timesheet in Sprint Qualifying. 

The first incident happened a few minutes into the practice session when Liam Lawson had a hydraulic failure and had to park his car. That took him out of the Sprint Shootout, and he’ll start last. Alex Albon had a moment when he ran over a groundhog that was sitting on the track and then went into the wall, bringing out another Red Flag. Albon, like Lawson, missed out on qualifying for the Sprint Race on Saturday, and he will start 21st. Esteban Ocon crashed into the wall and lost his front wing, bringing out the red for the third time in the session, and ultimately ending it. 

Antonelli and Russell finished at the top of the pack as FP1 came to a close, with the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen rounding out the top five. 

The Sprint Shootout received added drama as Fernando Alonso, trying to get out of the elimination zone in SQ2, locked up and went into the wall at the Turn 3 chicane, causing the fourth and final Red Flag of the day and a delay in the session. That’s a rare mistake from the Spaniard, and he’ll start from 14th for the Sprint. 

Mercedes’ upgrades proved to work perfectly, as Russell and Antonelli topped the charts. McLaren brought upgrades, as well, which worked, too, as Lando Norris got P3 and Oscar Piastri qualified P4. The upgrades put McLaren above Ferrari and right behind Mercedes, and at a track the Papaya team struggled at last year (and saw Norris crash out of the Grand Prix after colliding with Piastri), that is a step in the right direction. 

Hamilton, who kept putting in the fastest lap, ending up falling down to P5, and Leclerc, who put his car in the barrier during the qualifying session last year, went P6. Overall, the Italian team is pretty much where they were last year. Red Bull didn't start the season hot, and unfortunately, those woes are continuing, as the team brought a few upgrades, but none of them seemed to do their jobs. Max Verstappen struggled the whole day and will start from P7, and Isack Hadjar wrapped up the long day in P8. Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz, who barely squeezed their way into SQ3 after a last lap effort in SQ2, knocked out Niko Hulkenberg and rounded out the top ten. 

Overall, it was an exciting day one at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Sprint Race will last 23 laps (or 60 minutes) and will start on Saturday at noon (all times are track time). A couple of hours later, cars will hit the track once again to qualify for the actual race on Sunday at 4 PM.