Practice 1 Report - Leclerc fastest in chaotic Monaco practice

Charles Leclerc
© Ferrari

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in a traffic-heavy and incident-filled opening practice session for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, narrowly beating Max Verstappen as the championship heads to its most iconic venue.

Leclerc, racing on home soil, set the fastest lap of the session with a 1m11.964s on soft tyres, a time that stood until the end despite Verstappen's late charge. The session was halted early on after Leclerc himself collided with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll at the tight hairpin. Stroll drifted onto the racing line as Leclerc approached at speed, causing the Ferrari driver to slam into the back of the Canadian's car. Stroll's rear suspension and gearbox were damaged in the impact, ending his session after just four laps.

Both drivers were summoned to the stewards for the incident, which triggered a red flag just nine minutes into the session.

Following the restart, Lewis Hamilton briefly led the way on medium tyres before the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri swapped fastest laps on softs. Piastri went as quick as 1m13.031s before Norris bettered him, but both were soon eclipsed by Leclerc's strong mid-session run. Despite complaining over team radio about car balance, the Ferrari man managed to extract pace from the SF-25 and remain on top.

Red Bull spent much of the hour running hard tyres before Verstappen switched to softs in the final 15 minutes. His first effort placed him seventh, but two subsequent laps moved him up to second, 0.163s behind Leclerc. Norris completed the top three with a 1m12.290s.

Williams' Alex Albon impressed in fourth, narrowly ahead of Piastri. George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten in a session plagued by traffic and near-misses.

Sainz and Norris both overshot Turn 1 late in the session, while Hamilton came close to contact several times amid the dense Monaco traffic. Rookie Isack Hadjar clipped the barriers at the Swimming Pool section, but escaped without major damage.

FP1 served as a chaotic but telling preview of the challenges the drivers will face on Monte Carlo's unforgiving streets during the weekend.