Leclerc leads the way in a chaotic Monaco FP1

Charles Leclerc proved why he is the local favorite, setting the pace in the opening practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix. His best lap of 1m 13.978s was enough to put him 0.226s clear of his Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton, as the field navigated two red-flag interruptions.

It was a messy start to the weekend, with Isack Hadjar bringing out the first red flag after hitting the barriers at the Swimming Pool chicane in his Red Bull. The session was halted a second time near the end when Fernando Alonso clipped the wall exiting the tunnel, leaving debris from his Aston Martin on the track. In between the stoppages, the circuit was packed with action, including a post-session investigation confirmed for an impeding incident involving Leclerc and Liam Lawson.

Despite the drama, the order behind the Ferrari duo featured Max Verstappen in third, followed by the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Lando Norris finished the session in sixth, while Nico Hulkenberg managed a seventh-place run for Audi. It is an intense start for the teams, who must now process the data before Free Practice 2 at 1700 local time.