Antonelli Leads Mercedes One-Two in Canadian GP Practice
Kimi Antonelli currently leads the drivers' championship, holding a 20-point advantage over his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Antonelli secured the fastest time in a practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes one-two finish. The session was interrupted following an incident involving Alex Albon's Williams colliding with a groundhog.
Albon suffered a heavy crash after being unable to avoid the animal at the exit of Turn Seven. The British-born Thai driver slid along the barriers for a considerable distance on the straight following the corner, resulting in significant damage to his car.
The red flag caused by Albon's incident was one of three during the session. The first stoppage occurred when Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls halted on track due to a loss of steering, and the final red flag was triggered when Esteban Ocon crashed his Haas after spinning at the exit of Turn Four.
Antonelli, who leads Russell by 20 points after achieving three wins in the first four races, posted a time 0.142 seconds faster than his teammate.
Russell required two attempts to approach Antonelli's pace before spinning and lightly contacting the wall at the start of his third effort; fortunately, his car sustained no damage.
Mercedes introduced a significant upgrade package for this race, which appeared to have a notable impact. Lewis Hamilton, third fastest driving for Ferrari, was 0.774 seconds behind Antonelli. The seven-time world champion edged out his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who was fourth fastest by 0.179 seconds.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen recorded the fifth fastest time, 0.964 seconds off the pace, ahead of both McLaren drivers. World champion Lando Norris led teammate Oscar Piastri.
McLaren brought the second part of a two-stage upgrade package, spread over this race and the previous one in Miami. Norris made history in Miami by becoming the first driver to beat a Mercedes in qualifying or race when he won the sprint race from pole position.
This weekend also features a sprint race, with qualifying for the shorter event scheduled for 21:30 BST (16:30 local time) on Friday, preceding grand prix qualifying.
Racing Bulls' British rookie Arvid Lindblad was eighth fastest, followed by Audi's Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who appeared in the top 10 for the first time this season in any session.
The veteran two-time world champion Alonso employed an offset tyre strategy, using soft tyres earlier in the session than most other teams.
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