Monaco GP: Leclerc tops FP1 despite early drama with Stroll

Charles Leclerc led the way in opening practice for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, the local hero overcoming a troubled start and a major collision to clock the fastest time of the session.

The Ferrari driver’s FP1 began inauspiciously when he locked up on his very first out lap and had to awkwardly reverse out of the Mirabeau run-off. Minutes later, he collided heavily with Lance Stroll at the Hotel hairpin.

Stroll, attempting to rejoin the racing line after letting a Mercedes through, moved across just as Leclerc arrived at speed, resulting in a hard impact that tore off Leclerc’s front wing and triggered a red flag.

• Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Though the SF-25 was quickly repaired, Stroll’s Aston Martin sustained gearbox damage that ended his session prematurely. The Canadian was also summoned to the stewards for the incident while his team was left at the outset with limited data for the weekend’s opening session.

Despite these setbacks – and repeated and very vocal radio complaints about his car’s handling –Leclerc bounced back in style. Running on worn C6 soft tyres, he was the only driver to dip into the 1m11s bracket, edging out Lewis Hamilton’s FP1 benchmark from last year.

Verstappen and McLaren Show Early Pace

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was Leclerc’s closest challenger, finishing just 0.163s behind. The Dutchman looked sharp throughout, keeping pace despite Monaco’s traditionally difficult layout for the RB20.

McLaren appeared quick from the outset, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri making strong starts on the soft C6 compound. However, their pace didn’t improve substantially on the medium C5s.

Norris failed to complete a clean flying lap on the medium tyre, running wide at Ste Devote and later cutting the Nouvelle Chicane, but still ended the session in third.

Piastri, impressively, was the only driver in the top 12 to set his best lap on mediums and slotted into fifth, just behind the in-form Alex Albon in fourth, who continued Williams’ recent strong performances.

Hamilton’s Ferrari Baptism at Monaco

Lewis Hamilton’s first FP1 in Monaco as a Ferrari driver was far from smooth. Initially among the quickest on the medium compound, he struggled to find form on the C6s.

His session was peppered with incident, including a brief moment of tension with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, who was unimpressed by Hamilton’s slow pace late in the lap—prompting Lawson’s engineer to quip, “usual Hamilton stuff.

The Briton’s run was further compromised when he had to abandon a flying lap after encountering two dawdling cars at Massenet. He later brushed the wall at the Swimming Pool chicane and was launched over the kerb, but avoided serious damage.

Mercedes’ George Russell ended the session in seventh, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz close behind in eighth.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso capped off the top ten.

As expected, Monaco delivered chaos, precision, and drama in equal measure. With the new two-stop rule and a narrow performance gap at the front, this weekend’s Grand Prix is shaping up to be as unpredictable as ever.

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