PRACTICE: Palmowski sets the pace ahead of Felbermayr in Montreal

Alisha Palmowski got her Montreal weekend off to a strong start, ending the one and only Practice session at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve fastest of all.

The Red Bull Racing driver clocked a 1:39.371 to lead the way by two tenths ahead of Standings leader Emma Felbermayr, with Megan Bruce putting two Campos Racing cars inside the top three.

Ella Lloyd was the first driver to get a time on the board, setting a 1:50.229 around the dusty street circuit. The McLaren driver led the way in the early stages, improving to a 1:42.906 as the only driver to post a lap in the opening 10 minutes.

The yellow flags were briefly flown after Jade Jacquet spun out of Turn 6, but the Williams driver was able to continue on.

Once the flags were cleared, Felbermayr moved into the top spot on a 1:42.604, but the Audi driver’s time was quickly bettered by Gademan. The Alpine driver delivered multiple improvements, eventually posting a 1:41.491 to go eight tenths clear of MP Motorsport teammate Alba Larsen.

Reaching the halfway mark, Larsen went fastest on a 1:41.362 before Felbermayr moved back to the top of the timesheets, going 0.014s quicker than the Ferrari driver.

As track conditions continued evolve, the drivers battled to find the limit. After a rapid Sector 1, Palmowski was forced to bail out of her lap after catching the dust and bouncing across the grass at Turn 8. Meanwhile, Felbermayr brought out the yellow flags momentarily after a spin at Turn 8.

Palmowski swiftly recovered, posting a 1:39.894 to move four tenths ahead of Larsen. Felbermayr then halved the deficit but the Red Bull Racing driver responded, breaking 0.8s clear with a 1:39.371 before heading to the pits.

Larsen, Lisa Billard and Bruce each closed in on the Briton in the final minutes, but nobody could take P1 away from Palmowski. Felbermayr snatched P2 at the chequered flag, 0.231s off the fastest time.

Bruce was third quickest on her Montreal debut ahead of fellow rookies Billard and Westcott. Larsen was sixth but hit the wall in the closing stages of the session, leaving the #12 with potential suspension damage. Lloyd followed in P7 ahead of Rafaela Ferreira, Rachel Robertson and Gademan, who rounded out the top 10.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Qualifying will get underway at 18:00 local time (UTC-4), with the fastest times setting the grid for Sunday’s Feature Race and the second-fastest times for Saturday morning’s Opening Race.