Charles Leclerc made an emphatic start to his home Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in Free Practice 1 for the Monaco Grand Prix, despite an early incident with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Returning to the streets where he claimed his first victory 12 months ago, the Monegasque driver showed both speed and resilience at the wheel of his Ferrari SF-25. His best lap of 1:11.964 was enough to lead the field, despite contact at the Loews hairpin where Stroll cut across his path, forcing Leclerc to pit for a new front wing.
The stewards reviewed the incident and handed Stroll a one-place grid penalty for impeding, along with a penalty point on his super licence.
Behind Leclerc, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was second fastest in the Red Bull, 0.163s adrift, with McLaren’s Lando Norris close behind in third, 0.326s off the pace.
Williams continued their promising form, with Alexander Albon delivering a standout performance to take fourth (+0.350), narrowly ahead of championship leader Oscar Piastri, who was fifth in the second McLaren (+0.378).
George Russell secured sixth for Mercedes, 0.518s behind Leclerc, while Carlos Sainz slotted into seventh (+0.570) in the second Ferrari, capping a strong showing for the Scuderia.
Pierre Gasly delivered a solid session for Alpine in eighth (+0.705), just ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, who managed ninth place (+0.726). Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten in his Aston Martin.
Just outside the top ten was rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who impressed once again with the 11th fastest time, only 0.801s behind the benchmark set by his Ferrari team-mate.
With the narrow streets of Monte Carlo already claiming their first drama of the weekend, the stage is set for a thrilling Grand Prix as teams and drivers fine-tune their setups ahead of Saturday’s crucial qualifying session.
