F1 Canadian GP LIVE: Qualifying start time and practice results as Lewis Hamilton eyes shock pole

As F1 makes its second trip across the Atlantic in the space of five weeks, Max Verstappen is the centre of attention once again. Before Miami in May, it was due to heartwarming reasons, as he became a father for the first time a few days earlier. Yet this weekend, ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver knows he is on his final warning on-track.

The three penalty points accumulated at the last meet in Spain – punishment for a deliberate ram into George Russell – means the enigmatic Dutchman is just one point away from a race suspension. A suspension which, surely, would put his faint 2025 title hopes in the dust.

As such, Verstappen must keep his nose clean this weekend, and in Austria in a fortnight’s time, before two of his 11 points are wiped from his licence. Twelve across a year trigger a ban; it is a fair system, designed to curtail erratic, dangerous manoeuvres such as the one seen in Barcelona.

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“Two cars in the top-10 and scoring points with both cars, it’s a realistic proposition for us.

“We were competitive at all tracks this year, apart from Barcelona.

On fifth in championship: “It would be a great result, it doesn’t feel comfortable, our main goal is to fix some of the foundational things which should help us on our journey this year.”

• 3 points, 2025 Spanish GP – Causing a collision with George Russell (expires 1 June 2026)
• 2 points, 2024 Abu Dhabi GP – Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri (expires 8 December 2025)
• 1 point, 2024 Qatar GP – Driving unnecessarily slowly on a cooldown lap in qualifying (expires 1 December 2025)
• 1 point, 2024 Brazil GP sprint – Being under the minimum VSC delta time (expires 1 November 2025)
• 2 points, 2024 Mexico GP – Forcing Lando Norris off-track (expires 27 October 2025)
• 2 points, 2024 Austrian GP – Causing a collision with Lando Norris (expires 30 June 2025)

(12 points in a 12-month period trigger a race ban)

On Verstappen-Russell incident: “He apologised in the debrief, a very frustrating race for him and the team. It was one of those things, with hindsight, I’m sure he wouldn’t have done what he did.

“He’s a driver who drives with a huge amount of emotion, that’s the brilliance he has. Occasionally, you make misjudgements - you see it with all the greats, Senna, Schumacher. He immediately apologised to the team.”

On Ferrari rumours: “I’m not going anywhere. It’s always flattering being associated with other teams, particularly Ferrari, but I’m not going anywhere. Been here 21 years, don’t have any intention on being anywhere else.”

1. McLaren - 362 points

2. Ferrari - 165 points

3. Mercedes - 159 points

4. Red Bull - 144 points

5. Williams - 54 points

6. Racing Bulls - 28 points

7. Haas - 26 points

8. Sauber - 16 points

9. Aston Martin - 16 points

10. Alpine - 11 points

Morocco looks set to enter the competitive race to host an F1 race in Africa with a spectacular $1.2m (£887m) plan revealed near the coastal city of Tangier.

Both South Africa – at either the Kyalami track near Johannesburg or a Cape Town street circuit, and Rwanda have expressed strong interest in hosting a grand prix, perhaps as early as 2027.

Africa is the only habitable continent that F1 does not host a race in, amidst the congested 24-event calendar. The last grand prix in Africa was the 1993 South African GP.

But now, Morocco is aiming to build a mega-project 20km south of Tangier, which will include a Grade 1 circuit fit to host F1 and MotoGP, a theme park, a shopping mall and a marina.

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When pressed on his own future, an animated Vasseur, in his third season in charge of the Italian giants, said: “I have to stay calm otherwise I will be reported to the stewards.

“It is not about me, because I can manage this, but it is about the people of the team and to throw their names like this is disrespectful for them and for their family.

“I don’t understand the target? Perhaps it is to give s*** to the team and in this case I don’t see the point. Maybe for them it is to exist? But it is clearly hurting the team.”

The FIA implemented the penalty points system to monitor the behaviour of drivers over the course of a season. They can be given for anything from crashes and racing incidents to safety car and yellow flag-related infringements.

The stewards decide on the number of points. The more points handed to a driver for a certain scenario, the more severe the incident.

Verstappen’s three-point penalty in Barcelona is the most severe punishment he’s received over the past year, which includes other incidents involving Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

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“To everyone that’s writing stories of me considering not racing, I literally only just started, my first year here with Ferrari and I’m here for several years,” he said, ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

“I’m here for the long haul. So, there is no question about where my head is at and what I’m working towards achieving with this team.

“There’s zero doubts. So, please stop making up stuff.”