Home hero Charles Leclerc topped an eventful first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix despite clashing with Lance Stroll.
Leclerc beat Max Verstappen by 0.163s in a session which saw several drivers getting caught out by traffic around the tight confines of Monaco, including Lewis Hamilton who went airborne to avoid the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli at the high-speed Swimming Pool chicane.
Earlier on, Leclerc ran into the back of Stroll on the approach to the famous Turn 6 hairpin as the Aston Martin driver moved onto the racing line when Leclerc was on a flying lap.
The incident caused a brief red flag after 10 minutes due to debris and Ferrari fixed Leclerc’s front corner quickly before the Monegasque driver delighted the home crowd by going fastest.
Stroll missed the remainder of the session due to damage on his gearbox and will visit the stewards to explain his actions before second practice at 4pm later on Friday, live on Sky Sports F1.
Encouragingly for Ferrari, on a track they were not expected to be competitive at, Leclerc set his lap much earlier than Verstappen so could have gone even quicker.
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An early red flag was deployed during P1 of the Monaco Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc crashed into the back of Lance Stroll, losing his front left wing
McLaren’s Lando Norris was third and three tenths behind Leclerc, with Williams’ Alex Albon in fourth. Oscar Piastri, who leads Norris by 13 points in the standings, was in fifth and George Russell in sixth.
Hamilton finished the session in ninth but will be relieved to have escaped damage after multiple incidents with traffic and showed strong pace earlier on.
The seven-time world champion was just behind Williams Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who said some drivers had to “wake up” when encountering traffic.
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Watch the moment Lewis Hamilton had to drastically navigate traffic to avoid a collision during P1 of the Monaco Grand Prix
A range of tyre compounds were used across the 60 minutes of practice with an unpredictable race expected on Sunday due to the introduction of two mandatory pit stops.
Although the usual rule of only two different compounds need to be used, at least three tyre sets will need to be run during the 78 laps, and the pit stops can happen at any time.
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Christian Horner jokingly describes Adrian Newey as a ‘giant bogey’ when first spotting him in new Aston Martin kit since leaving Red Bull
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “The two stop could be a bit of a lottery on Sunday. It depends on Safety Car, and weather and tactics and so on.
“It’s going to keep the strategists flat out and deliver another element to the race.”
Sky Sports F1’s Monaco GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Monaco Grand Prix
Friday May 23
2.05pm: F2 Qualifying
3pm: F1 Team Bosses’ Press Conference
3.45pm: Monaco GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday May 24
9.40am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Monaco GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.10pm: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: MONACO GP QUALIFYING
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday May 25
6.55am: F3 Feature Race
8.35am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Monaco GP build-up*
2pm: The MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Monaco GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
5.30pm: The Indy 500
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Next up in F1’s European triple-header is the ‘Jewel in the Crown’, the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, with coverage starting on Friday live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
