Free Data Canada: Mercedes makes a big leap and Kimi flies around the corners

Formula 1 returns to the track on the beautiful circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve, in Montreal, and the debut in the only free practice session shows results that could be defined as impressive. Mercedes brings a huge package of aerodynamic upgrades to the track and the feedback is truly remarkable. The Brackley single-seater goes from having the engine as its main strong point, to an aerodynamics that expresses, at least from what we saw in this single session, an enormous quantity of aerodynamic load while remaining efficient. The gain over his rivals is no longer limited to the straight stretches, but is a constant growth along the entire lap, where at every short stretch Antonelli puts meter after meter in his pocket, to arrive at the finish line with almost a second on the Ferrari, the first pursuer, and almost 1 and a half seconds on the McLaren. The W17 gains when entering corners, when cornering and then maximizes the gain in traction, and then also continues when accelerating (with the non-Mercedes powered ones). An advantage that appears impressive and which cannot help but seriously worry his opponents. Ferrari second force, good set-up but terrible gap From the first stages of the Canadian weekend the Maranello team emerged second force on the track, with an overall good starting set-up, and indeed a better optimization of the electrical part than what we have seen so far. Thanks to this, Hamilton is the first pursuer of the Mercedes with Leclerc immediately behind, and the two standard bearers of the red put both Verstappen and, somewhat surprisingly, the two McLarens behind. A debut therefore which could also be considered positive when looking at two of the direct rivals, namely Red Bull and McLaren, but which impresses negatively when analyzing the gap from the silver treads. The impression is that some work on the SF26 is obviously possible, but that, given the good starting point, there is no enormous margin for improvement that could worry the rivals led by Toto Wolff. McLaren: a potential to be evaluated but for now too difficult to drive. Behind the Ferraris is Max Verstappen with a Red Bull with some set-up problems at the rear, but despite this very effective in traction, and immediately behind the four-time world champion we find the two McLarens. The Woking car is a bit of a disappointment in this first session, but obviously everything needs to be re-evaluated when the times really count. The impression is of a single-seater which, due to the many changes, is absolutely not ready and is indeed particularly difficult to drive. From there a series of errors by Norris and Piastri which compressed his potential, probably close if not ahead of that of Ferrari. We’ll see if the set-up changes that Stella’s men will make before the sprint qualifying will make life easier for Norris and Piastri and therefore if the two Papaya standard-bearers will be able to put Ferrari in particular difficulty, given that Mercedes now appears well ahead. Kimi better than Russell in the corners In the internal battle, which will perhaps be solitary again, Antonelli once again prevails in the Mercedes team, even if only in free practice for now. The data we analyzed, however, show that Antonelli was decidedly faster than Russell, especially in corners, and with the Englishman who seemed to feel forced to show that he was at least as good as his teammate in his approach speed to the corners and ended up turning around. Even in the first attempt with the soft tyre, Antonelli set Russell at 12 km/h as the minimum speed in the last chicane, with the Englishman reducing the speed to 4 km/h on the last lap but never managing to worry Antonelli in the second part of the session. The challenge between them could ignite in Canada, especially if they find themselves alone battling against each other both in the Sprint and in the race. Data to be confirmed and very specific. The Mercedes advantage clearly appeared impressive, but it remains a set of values ​​found in a single free practice session. Furthermore, the track has a strong working characteristic on the longitudinal axis of the car, and it is quite clear that it is one of the strong points of this Mercedes. To weigh everything, we will first need to see how the weekend continues and then check the differences even on tracks with strong lateral load. In the meantime, we await the Sprint qualifying in Montreal, which could give us a clearer picture of the situation and which, probably behind Mercedes, could offer a very close battle between Ferrari, Verstappen and McLaren.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-23 05:43:00