Charles Leclerc topped Monaco Grand Prix FP1 with a blistering 1:13.978, delivering a Ferrari 1‑2 as the Italian squad reaffirmed its pre‑weekend expectations on the street circuit.
Ferrari’s early supremacy
Choosing hard tyres for the opening stint, Leclerc locked the escape road at Turn 5 but still managed a sector‑leading lap that outpaced teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.226 seconds. The Scuderia’s pace eclipsed championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who posted a 1:14.537 on medium rubber, and left Mercedes scrambling for a response.
Mercedes briefly closed the gap when George Russell improved to 1:14.983, yet the red‑flag caused by Isack Hadjar’s Turn 15‑16 crash halted further medium‑compound attempts for the British team.
Red flags and tyre swaps
Hadjar’s incident with 25 minutes remaining forced a session stoppage, after the Red Bull driver slid onto the barriers in the chicane – his second crash in three weekends. Green conditions returned with fifteen minutes left, prompting Ferrari to switch to mediums; Hamilton seized the provisional lead with a 1:14.204 before Leclerc reclaimed it, breaking the sub‑1:14 barrier.
Fernando Alonso later contributed a second red flag when his Aston Martin shed debris across the chicane, effectively ending the first practice period. The interruptions limited further time on fresh rubber for several teams.
Final classification and midfield snapshot
Max Verstappen capped the session in third, 0.513 seconds off Leclerc’s best, while Antonelli settled fourth and Russell rounded out the top five. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri recorded sixth and eighth respectively, sandwiched around Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg in seventh.
Behind the leaders, Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) claimed ninth, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) tenth, and the field filled out with drivers from Williams, Haas, Racing Bulls and others, all navigating the tight, low‑speed layout.
Leclerc’s stellar lap set the tone for the weekend, positioning Ferrari as the benchmark and suggesting a tightly contested battle for the remaining sessions of the Monaco Grand Prix.
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