Defending world champion Max Verstappen went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix as the sport returned to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the first time since 2019. Verstappen outpaced Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by over two tenths of a second with Fernando Alonso third for Alpine.
Verstappen led the way early in the session, logging a time of 1:17.991 on medium compound Pirelli tyres to take top spot. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas then rose to the top of the timesheet, with a lap of 1:17.902 effort. Verstappen responded immediately, however, stretching a massive 1.4s tenths of a second clear of the Finnish driver.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez then slotted into second place, half a second off the Dutchman, but the champion was already starting another flying lap and when he did so he again made a large improvement, posting a lap of 1:15.799s to sit 1.2 clear of Pérez.
Pérez was finding a comfort zone, however, and after a small improvement from Verstappen the Mexican jumped to P1 just before the quarter hour mark with a lap of 1:15.660.
After a lull in the action, the Red Bull pair then switched to the soft tyres just before the halfway point. Ferrari also made the switch and Sainz took top spot with a lap 1:15.441. Verstappen returned to the track, however, and posted his best time of 1:15.158 to beat the Spaniard by 0.246s.
Alonso finished third, just 0.373 behind Verstappen, while Pérez was left with fourth place, 0.4s behind his team-mate at the flag. Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari settled for fifth place, 0.508 in arrears to Verstappen.
Sixth place on the timesheet went to George Russell who was separated from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by home favourite Lance Stroll who took his Aston Martin to seventh place, 0.664 off Verstappen’s place. Behind Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel was ninth in the second Aston Martin and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top for McLaren.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull RBPT RB18 | 1:15.158 | 27 |
| 02 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari F1-75 | 1:15.404 | 34 |
| 03 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault A522 | 1:15.531 | 31 |
| 04 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull RBPT RB18 | 1:15.619 | 32 |
| 05 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari F1-75 | 1:15.666 | 30 |
| 06 | George Russell | Mercedes W13 | 1:15.822 | 29 |
| 07 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 | 1:15.877 | 32 |
| 08 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W13 | 1:15.877 | 27 |
| 09 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 | 1:16.041 | 33 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Mercedes MCL36 | 1:16.083 | 29 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 | 1:16.165 | 29 |
| 12 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL36 | 1:16.211 | 17 |
| 13 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW44 | 1:16.308 | 29 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 | 1:16.322 | 33 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A522 | 1:16.421 | 26 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 | 1:16.426 | 27 |
| 17 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 | 1:17.152 | 30 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari VF-22 | 1:17.223 | 29 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes FW44 | 1:17.241 | 33 |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-22 | 1:17.555 | 31 |