23/05/2025 14:35
Home hero Charles Leclerc endured an eventful opening practice for
the Monaco Grand Prix. The session was only eight minutes old when
Ferrari driver Leclerc, who won this event last year, was involved
in the first incident of the weekend. Approaching the Loews
Hairpin, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll moved off the racing line to
allow by Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes. At slow speed, and in
moving back across to sweep around the left-hand curve, Stroll was
hit from behind by Leclerc. The hit severely damaged the front wing
on Leclerc's Ferrari, sending debris across the track and sparking
a six-minute red-flag period to allow the surface to be cleared.
For Stroll, however, it was the end of his running due to rear
suspension damage and the need to change the gearbox. The Canadian
has also been summoned to see the stewards for causing a collision.
Leclerc managed to return to the garage, despite half of the wing
lodged underneath the car. Despite additional complaints over the
radio at times over the performance of his car, the Monégasque
still posted the quickest lap time of 1:11.964s, finishing 0.163s
clear of four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.
McLaren's Lando Norris was third fastest, 0.326s shy of Leclerc,
and 0.024s ahead of Williams' Alex Albon. Hamilton goes flying At
the very early stage of Leclerc's incident with Stroll, Ferrari
team-mate Hamilton held sway with a lap of 1:14.576s but it was
nothing more than an sighter as lap times tumbled once the session
resumed. By the half-hour mark, McLaren's Lando Norris topped the
timesheet with a 1:12.290s, only for Leclerc to soon take over with
a 1:11.964s, even though several minutes earlier he had complained
about "being nowhere" and struggling with understeer through
certain corners. Naturally, with it being Monaco, there were minor
skirmishes that saw Williams's Carlos Sainz and Norris take to the
run-off at Ste Devote as the limits were explored. There was a
hair-raising moment for Hamilton with around 16 minutes remaining,
Powering up the hill, as the seven-time champion flew over its
brow, he was forced to take weaving action with two slower cars
ahead of him. Soon after, Leclerc returned to the pits. Over the
radio, he complained his "front left has gone", and that "there is
something wrong with the car". Regardless, he again returned to
continue on with his programme. In an eventful session for Ferrari,
on another flying lap for Hamilton, coming out of the swimming pool
complex, he encountered his replacement at Mercedes, Antonelli.
Hamilton was forced to cut the corner but in doing so hit a yellow
sausage kerb to his left, sending him momentarily airborne, and an
obvious return to the pits to assess the car. Like Leclerc,
however, he was given the all-clear to continue. Hamilton
eventually finished ninth, 0.726s adrift of Leclerc. Behind Albon
and ahead of Hamilton were championship leader Oscar Piastri in his
McLaren, followed by Mercedes' George Russell, Sainz and Alpine's
Pierre Gasly. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso rounded out the top
10, 0.041s behind Hamilton. Team-mate Stroll naturally finished
bottom, 3.671s down but he only managed four laps. Instead, it was
Franco Colapinto, on his Monaco debut in F1, and mindful of
avoiding another crash after doing so on his maiden outing with
Alpine at Imola last week, who was effectively last, 1.856s off the
pace.
