Jun 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (81) during FP2 practice at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

formula-1

Canadian GP Free Practice: Williams Eye a Bounce Back, While McLaren Face “Tricky” Friday!

Read ahead to know more about the top stories from Friday's Practice!

Jun 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (81) during FP2 practice at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Friday’s Free Practice sessions gave a lot of data after two hours of running. Ferrari’s runs were cut short as they lost Leclerc’s car in a crash. However, the other teams could get the maximum out of the practice sessions. The timesheets showed a slight variation for this weekend. McLaren were not the fastest cars during the two Free Practice sessions.

Max Verstappen claimed the top spot in the first session with both Williams following his lead. In the next session, it was the Mercedes drivers who managed to top the timesheets. The weekend will be much easier for Aston Martin F1. They won’t have to create any permutations for Lance Stroll’s replacement. As the teams prepare for the final practice session and qualifying on Saturday, let’s have a look at what happened on Friday.

Canadian GP Free Practice Stories

The highlights of Friday went to Mercedes and Williams F1. Mercedes are looking strong this weekend with Russell leading the charge. Meanwhile Williams drivers are feeling positive after a good start to Friday. Both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz think that Q3 is withing their reach and they have a good package to challenge Montreal on Saturday.

Lando Norris meanwhile had the “worst Friday” for his team. He didn’t quote a lack of pace in the car or any issues. However, the Briton was facing difficulties in bringing a good lap together and pushing for better times. It was a tricky Friday for the car no.4. His teammate, the current championship leader, faced similar struggles. Although, Piastri thinks there’s no need to raise the “alarm bells”.

It's traffic paradise out there! 🫣#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/omGLCCYV1k
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 13, 2025

Max Verstappen was the fastest driver during the first practice session. His joy was cut short immediately in the next session. Verstappen revealed that the brakes weren’t getting up to enough temperature and their car lost balance in the next session.

Like Ferrari, Aston Martin were running only one car during practice. Lance Stroll crashed due to understeer and could not continue. Fernando Alonso’s verdict spells grim news for Aston Martin. El Padre claims there’s a very small window where the team can perform and it’s difficult to guess the performance after Friday.

Canadian Grand Prix

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Rohan Singh

nhl

I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.