Max Verstappen was the fastest in the first free practice in Canada. Verstappen recorded 1:13.193 minutes, having felt the best on the track, followed by Alex Albon (Williams) 0.039 seconds and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) 0.082 seconds. It is interesting to note that Verstappen got into an open conflict with a journalist 5 hours before getting into the car for practice.
In dry and sunny weather, the drivers created a commotion at the start, but after a few laps they adapted. By the time they changed tyres, they had already found the right grip on the track.
As the mid-day of the session approached, Verstappen had increased his pace to 1:13.863 seconds and it looked as if the Red Bull leader would have no problem with first place in this session. Later in the session, he decided to make amends for past incidents and showed how unhappy he was after feeling that Hamilton had not left him any more space while overtaking the slow-moving Ferrari. But the Briton definitely didn't do it on purpose and it was more of a moment of misunderstanding.
Nico Hulkenberg - who arrived for the weekend after an impressive 5th place in Spain - had a sharp collision with the so-called "Wall of Champions", but fortunately he avoided damage. The top six was completed by George Russell (Mercedes), Hamilton and Isaac Hajjar of Racing Honda.