Hamilton tops FP1 in Monaco, with Verstappen lingering outside the top 10

But Mercedes shouldn't get too excited. Neither Red Bull nor Ferrari demonstrated their top performance on the soft tyres during the 60-minute practice session. The jump from medium tyres to soft proved significant for most teams. There was even a suggestion of Piastri backing out of the throttle as he crossed the line on one of his fastest laps. 

Norris finished fourth, with Leclerc being the fastest Ferrari driver on the mediums. Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished in P11 and P12, respectively. Red Bull didn't use soft tyres during the session, so they have time to improve. Though Verstappen wasn't overly impressed over the team radio, once stating the car was on a "knife edge". 

 

 

 

 

 

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How it happened

The first free practice session in Monaco is usually about building confidence, adapting to the demands of the Monte Carlo streets, and laying down grip on a relatively dirty track. For this reason, 18 out of the 20 drivers started out with hard tyres. 

Even during these opening exchanges, the top three teams became clear once more. After the first set, Norris led from Verstappen and Sainz. Pierre Gasly had to take a break after those laps due to a PU issue, as mentioned on the radio. Alpine got Gasly back out on the track within a few minutes, only for the driver to report “no power”. 

Leclerc was the first driver to take a big jump forward on the hard tyres. He went quickest with 20 minutes gone in the session, improving by six-tenths on the previous best time by Norris. Sainz then soon followed giving an early indication of Ferrari’s strengths in Monaco. 

Mercedes were one of the first to use the soft tyres in Monaco and the timesheets also reflected that with Russell going fastest of all with 25 minutes remaining. Piastri, also on the softs, was three tenths slower on his first lap. Perez had a very small moment in the pits by clipping a temporary barrier which caused no damage or hinderance to the Mexican. 

The performance of the soft tyres was highlighted even move with Tsunoda jumping up to P3. Ferrari and Red Bull had yet to show performance on the soft tyres when the red flag came out with 13 minutes remaining. Zhou had a moment at the first corner and clipped the barrier. He was able to carry on but left front wing debris behind. Leclerc collected the debris and wanted his floor checked during the red flag period. Perez ended the session with a puncture.