Charles Leclerc crashed out of opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen set the early pace in Montreal.
Verstappen, who is a point away from a one-race ban following his collision with Mercedes’ George Russell at the recent Spanish Grand Prix, ended the session just 0.039 seconds clear of Williams driver Alex Albon.
Carlos Sainz finished third in the other Williams with Russell fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth. Lando Norris was only seventh while his McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri finished down the order in 14th.
Verstappen, who heads into this weekend’s race 49 points behind Piastri in the standings, produced the quickest time in the opening action of the weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to lay down an early marker.
But Leclerc’s preparations for the 10th round of the campaign were dealt a blow when he suffered a heavy accident with just nine laps on the board.
The Monegasque crashed into the barrier on the entry to turn four and sustained significant damage to the left-hand side of his Ferrari. The force of the impact sent him sideways and across the other side of the chicane.
“F***,” said Leclerc on the radio. “Sorry, I am in the wall. My bad. I should have gone straight but I thought I would make the corner and I hit the wall.”
Leclerc’s Ferrari mechanics will now face a race against time to ensure his car is ready for the concluding practice session of the day which begins at 17:00 local time (22:00 BST).
The session was red-flagged for eight minutes as Leclerc’s stricken Ferrari was retrieved and repairs to the barriers were completed.
As Verstappen launched his Red Bull to the top of the order, Norris appeared to be struggling with the handling of his McLaren and finished 0.458 seconds behind the Dutchman.
Piastri, who has won five of the nine rounds so far and leads Norris by 10 points, was even further back, one second off Verstappen’s pace.
The British team were experimenting with a new front wing and will be expected to improve in the day’s second session.
