Kimi Antonelli outpaced George Russell by 0.142s in Canadian GP practice as Mercedes flexed their first major upgrade package of the year. Antonelli, who has won all four races so far, topped the session with Hamilton nearly 0.8s back in third. Russell spun and tapped a barrier late, adding tension ahead of Sprint Qualifying.

The session featured three red flags — Lawson's technical issue, Albon hitting a groundhog, and Ocon shunting into barriers after losing control. Mercedes added 19 extra minutes to recover lost time. The result puts Russell under serious pressure to match his rookie team-mate's momentum at a circuit where he won last year.

Hamilton sat almost 0.2s clear of Ferrari's Leclerc in fourth, with Verstappen fifth. McLaren brought upgrades but errors on flying laps obscured their true pace. Lando Norris trailed 1.3s off Antonelli's time in sixth. The order makes Mercedes heavy favourites heading into Friday's Sprint Qualifying.