Lando Norris just set the pace from Charles Leclerc and George Russell at the top of a competitive timesheet as McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri hit the wall in final practice at the Canadian Grand Prix.
In the final track session ahead of qualifying at 9pm – live on Sky Sports F1 – championship leaders McLaren hit the front for the first time this weekend after what Norris had described as their “worst” Friday of the season.
Norris’ late-session time on the soft tyres of 1:11.799 proved to be the session’s quickest, although McLaren’s rivals remained close behind at the wall-lined Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
A late lap on used soft tyres from Charles Leclerc – returning to the track after his big crash in Friday’s first practice session had sidelined him from the second – saw the Ferrari driver finish within a tenth of the lead McLaren.
Friday pacesetter Russell remained in contention too with third in the lead Mercedes, just over a tenth back, while Lewis Hamilton underlined the promise Ferrari showed in the session by taking an improved fourth.
“This is so exciting. Qualifying is going to be thrilling,” said Sky Sports F1’s Nico Rosberg.
McLaren driver Lando Norris was quickest in final practice
“Lando is on form. This is a driver’s track and Lando doesn’t necessarily have the best car but he’s driving brilliantly.
“Leclerc is right there but he made mistakes, so Ferrari are there. Lewis messed up his last sector. It’s wide open.”
Max Verstappen was fifth but 0.273s behind Norris, with Piastri an unusually-massive 0.7s adrift of his team-mate in eighth, behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
Title leader Piastri has made minimal errors so far this season but goes into qualifying on the back foot here after tagging the Wall of Champions early on in final practice.
The impact at the McLaren’s right-rear punctured its tyre, and seemingly caused further bodywork damage around the rear suspension too, although Piastri ultimately lost just eight minutes of track time after a slow crawl back to the pit lane for swift checks and repairs.
Several drivers faced the wrath of the wall of champions during the final practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Montreal’s infamous final turn also caught out Nico Hulkenberg, who brushed the barrier during a 360-degree spin in his Sauber, before Haas’ Oliver Bearman made rather heavier impact with his car’s right-rear tyre against the tyre barrier at the end of the wall.
Williams, meanwhile, finished with both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in the top 10.
But Yuki Tsunoda was slowest of all in the second Red Bull after completing just 13 laps due to apparent brake issues on his car.
The Japanese driver also required to head to the stewards ahead of qualifying for an alleged red-flag infringement when the session was briefly stopped for Piastri’s incident. Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto also faces the same investigation.
Sky Sports F1’s Canadian GP schedule
Saturday June 14
7.30pm: F1 Academy Race Two
8.30pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: CANADIAN GP QUALIFYING
11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday June 15
3.50pm: F1 Academy Race Three
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Canadian GP build-up*
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX*
9pm: Chequered Flag: Canadian GP reaction
10pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2025 Formula 1 season resumes live on Sky Sports F1 with the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
