Ferrari FP1 report: Charles Leclerc P1, Carlos Sainz P3

It’s that time of year again… F1’s most famous and glamorous Grand Prix is back and ready to host an epic weekend. All eyes are on Charles Leclerc this weekend at his home Grand Prix, and the Ferrari driver will be wearing a special helmet for the occasion.

Max Verstappen, last year’s winner, was the first to head out of the pits in the first free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, pits that are just as narrow as you’d expect given the tight and twisty Monte Carlo circuit. It was therefore time for a crucial session for drivers to get their eye in.

Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had the maximum load rear wing, with more efficient DRS, and the new floor, which was used in Barcelona, despite reports that the old floor would be used on Friday practice for comparative tests. As many would have expected, the early pace has been set by Ferrari. The Monegasque went fastest, but his Spanish team-mate improved his effort by a tenth or so with a 1:17.252. What we clear early on is that the Ferrari is tuned in immediately, as it has been all season.

One team that seemed far off pace was Mercedes, as their cars were moving all over the place, particularly through the tunnel section. Hamilton ran straight on at the chicane, his car understeering at an inopportune moment. No such worries for Carlos Sainz, who went fastest again by a thousandth.

Midway through FP1, Mick Schumacher reported a gearbox issue on team radio, and couldn’t quite make it back to the pits. He stopped at the pit-lane entrance and the red flags came out. It was a very short delay, with the marshals swiftly moving his car down the pit lane to the Haas garage.

With 20 minutes until the end of the first free practice session in Monaco, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were both on the medium tyre and promptly moved themselves up the order, with the Dutchman’s 1:14.7 a tenth up on his team-mate. On the other hand, Valtteri Bottas was yet to set a time in P1 on a weekend that Alfa Romeo will have pinned a lot of hopes on, believing there is a potential for Bottas to get on the podium.

In the final ten minutes, the F1-75 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were back on track: the Monegasque diver went fastest ahead of his Spanish, but the Red Bull of Sergio Perez splits them as the Mexican completed his fast run. A few moments later, it was Sergio Perez’s turn to have a lock up at the first corner, causing a momentary yellow flag before he found his way back on track.

Charles Leclerc therefore makes a strong start to his home GP in Monaco by setting the fastest time in the first practice session of the weekend for Ferrari. The Monegasque driver’s 1:14.531 narrowly edged out the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with another battle between this season’s top two teams appearing to be in store this weekend. The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was third, ahead of world championship leader Max Verstappen in fourth for Red Bull, with the top four covered by less than 0.2s.