Max Verstappen clocked the fifth fastest time in the final practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix. Lando Norris was the fastest at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Ferrari was also fast.
Norris clocked a 1:11.799 with his McLaren in Montreal. This was a fraction faster than Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver missed a large part of Friday after a crash, but showed that his car works well in Canada.
This was further confirmed by a fourth-place time for Lewis Hamilton. George Russell was in between with the Mercedes.
Verstappen conceded two tenths to Norris’s time. The Red Bull driver was not satisfied with his car and complained about a lack of feel in the brakes, among other things. Yet his practice went better than that of World Championship leader Oscar Piastri. The Australian first hit the wall with his McLaren, and then did not get past the eighth fastest time.
In the third free practice, it became clear again that there is little difference between the softest C6 tires and the medium tires (the C5 in Montreal). Ultimately, the entire top ten did record their fastest time on the C6.
Piastri was not the only driver to come into contact with the Wall of Champions, the notorious wall at the start-finish line. Oliver Bearman and Nico Hülkenberg, among others, were unable to avoid the concrete, although Hülkenberg managed to limit the damage to his Sauber with a nice spin.