Local favourite Charles Leclerc finished fastest in a busy opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, even though he had a collision with Lance Stroll.
Leclerc`s best lap was 0.163 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen`s. The session was marked by significant traffic issues on Monaco`s tight streets, notably affecting Lewis Hamilton, who became airborne attempting to avoid Kimi Antonelli`s Mercedes at the fast Swimming Pool section.
The incident involving Leclerc and Stroll occurred early on when Leclerc, on a flying lap, encountered Stroll`s Aston Martin moving onto the racing line near the Turn 6 hairpin. Leclerc ran into the back of Stroll`s car.
This collision prompted a brief red flag after about ten minutes due to debris on the track. Ferrari quickly repaired the front of Leclerc`s car, allowing the Monegasque driver to return and set the fastest time, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Stroll was unable to continue the session because of gearbox damage. He was summoned by the stewards to explain his actions regarding the incident before the second practice session.
The performance was encouraging for Ferrari, especially considering Monaco is not typically a circuit where they are expected to dominate. Leclerc set his fastest time relatively early compared to Verstappen, suggesting he might have had even more pace.
Lando Norris of McLaren secured the third fastest time, approximately three-tenths behind Leclerc. Alex Albon (Williams) was fourth, followed by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) in fifth and George Russell (Mercedes) in sixth.
Lewis Hamilton finished the session in ninth place. He was fortunate to avoid significant damage despite multiple close calls with traffic and had shown strong pace earlier in the practice.
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) were just ahead of Hamilton in the standings. Gasly commented after the session that some drivers needed to `wake up` to the traffic situation on track.
A variety of tyre compounds were evaluated during the 60-minute session. The race on Sunday is anticipated to be unpredictable, partly due to the introduction of a mandatory two-stop strategy.
Under the new rule for this race, teams must use at least three different tyre sets across the 78 laps, allowing pit stops at any point, unlike the usual requirement of using only two different compounds.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner commented on the new tyre rule, stating that the two-stop strategy “could be a bit of a lottery on Sunday,” influenced by factors such as Safety Cars, weather, and team tactics.
He added that it would “keep the strategists flat out and deliver another element to the race.”
Monaco GP Practice One Timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:11.964 |
| 2) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.163 |
| 3) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.326 |
| 4) Alex Albon | Williams | +0.350 |
| 5) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.378 |
| 6) George Russell | Mercedes | +0.518 |
| 7) Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.570 |
| 8) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.705 |
| 9) Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.726 |
| 10) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.763 |
| 11) Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.801 |
| 12) Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1.015 |
| 13) Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +1.223 |
| 14) Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +1.268 |
| 15) Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.365 |
| 16) Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.430 |
| 17) Liam Lawson | RB | +1.465 |
| 18) Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | +1.506 |
| 19) Franco Colapinto | Williams | +1.856 |
| 20) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +3.671 |
Monaco GP Schedule
- Friday May 23: F2 Qualifying (2:05pm), F1 Team Bosses` Press Conference (3pm), Monaco GP Practice Two (3:45pm), The F1 Show (5:15pm)
- Saturday May 24: F3 Sprint (9:40am), Monaco GP Practice Three (11:15am), F2 Sprint (1:10pm), Monaco GP Qualifying build-up (2:10pm), MONACO GP QUALIFYING (3pm), Ted`s Qualifying Notebook (5pm)
- Sunday May 25: F3 Feature Race (6:55am), F2 Feature Race (8:35am), Grand Prix Sunday: Monaco GP build-up (12:30pm), The MONACO GRAND PRIX (2pm), Chequered Flag: Monaco GP reaction (4pm), Ted`s Notebook (5pm), The Indy 500 (5:30pm)
