Monaco GP: Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 in red-flagged first practice

Charles Leclerc gave his home crowd plenty to cheer about by setting the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari one-two ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The Monegasque driver posted a best lap of 1m13.978s around the streets of Monte Carlo, finishing 0.226s clear of Hamilton as Ferrari immediately backed up predictions that its SF-26 could be the car to beat on Monaco’s slow-speed layout.

Leclerc arrived at his home race already at the centre of attention following news of a new Ferrari contract, but his session began less smoothly when he locked up and escaped down the Turn 5 run-off area on hard tyres during the opening minutes.

• Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Traffic and tyre issues shape the session

As expected around Monaco’s narrow confines, traffic quickly became a major talking point. Several drivers found their laps compromised, including the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who frustrated one another while battling for track position.

Ferrari nevertheless controlled the early stages. Leclerc’s initial benchmark of 1m14.928s put him ahead of Hamilton, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli running third.

Mercedes and Ferrari appeared to have a clear edge during the first half of the session, while Max Verstappen struggled to extract performance from his Red Bull. The reigning world champion was nearly a second off the pace at one stage and complained over team radio that his tyres were “just dead”.

Once the field switched to medium tyres, lap times began to tumble. Antonelli briefly moved to the top with a 1m14.537s effort, while George Russell climbed into the top three.

Hadjar crash halts running

Ferrari’s response was temporarily delayed as both cars remained in the garage while work continued on setup changes. Their wait became longer still when Isack Hadjar brought out the first red flag of the weekend.

The Red Bull driver misjudged his entry into the Turn 15-16 chicane, bounced across the kerbs and slid into the barriers, ending his session early.

Running resumed with 15 minutes remaining, and Ferrari wasted no time reasserting itself. Hamilton briefly took top spot with a 1m14.204s lap before Leclerc became the first driver to break into the 1m13s range moments later.

Verstappen best of the rest

No one could match Leclerc’s pace from there. Verstappen recovered to finish third, 0.513s adrift, while Antonelli and Russell completed the top five for Mercedes.

A second interruption arrived late in the session when debris from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was scattered across the chicane, effectively ending any chance of further improvements.

Lando Norris finished sixth for McLaren, more than 1.3 seconds off the pace, with Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi and Oscar Piastri following behind. Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth, while Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.

For now, though, the early bragging rights belong firmly to Ferrari – and especially to Leclerc, who made a strong opening statement on home soil.

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