Practice report
Formula 1 Monaco GP
F1 Monaco GP: Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 in twice red-flagged FP1
Ferrari lived up to its pre-weekend hype by taking a 1-2 in opening practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, as Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar brought out the red flags
Edited: Jun 5, 2026, 12:52 PM
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Charles Leclerc was quickest in opening practice for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix as Ferrari went 1-2 to back up its pre-weekend hype while Isack Hadjar crashed for Red Bull.
Leclerc set a 1m13.978s at his home circuit, 0.226s faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton after many had picked Ferrari as the Monaco favourite due to the SF-26’s strength in slow-speed corners.
The Scuderia was also the talk of the paddock heading into the weekend for off-track matters, as Leclerc signing a new deal was no doubt the biggest storyline upon arrival to this year’s first European race.
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The Monegasque, however, had a moment to forget inside the opening few minutes by locking up into the Turn 5 escape road on his hard tyres, the compound of choice early in FP1.
But it was a very busy early stage, so traffic became a big problem on the tight track, which included a frustrated Haas pair Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman wrecking each other’s laps.
The early pace was nonetheless set by Ferrari with a 1m14.928s for Leclerc, 0.182s quicker than team-mate Hamilton and 0.508s over championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third.
Max Verstappen finished the session in third
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
So, the opening 25 minutes saw dominance from Mercedes and Ferrari with fourth-placed Max Verstappen 0.9s off the pace in his Red Bull, while venting “my tyres are just dead”. That comment came just before the halfway mark, which saw most teams move onto the medium rubber to inevitably cause quicker lap times.
Antonelli was the first to beat Leclerc’s benchmark with a 1m14.537s, 0.471s quicker than team-mate George Russell who moved up to third, but Ferrari was one team to not make the early switch.
Instead, the Scuderia had opted to work on its cars inside the garage and was forced to stay there for a little while longer as Hadjar caused a red flag with 25 minutes remaining.
That happened after the Red Bull driver messed up his turn-in to the Turn 15-16 chicane and slid across the kerbs and into the barrier - his second crash in three weekends after retiring in Miami.
It was a relatively brief red flag though as green conditions returned with 15 minutes left and Ferrari opted to leave its garage on mediums this time, Hamilton consequently taking top spot with a 1m14.204s.
His advantage didn’t last for long though as moments later saw Leclerc become the first driver to go sub-1m14s with a 13.978s, 0.226s quicker than the seven-time world champion.
Those lap times subsequently went unbeaten so Mercedes didn’t really have an answer to Ferrari’s pace, with Verstappen even jumping ahead of the Silver Arrows to go 0.513s off top spot.
Fernando Alonso was one of two drivers to cause red flags
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
So, the four-time world champion rounded out the top three, partly helped by Fernando Alonso causing a second red flag period when parts of his Aston Martin spread across the chicane following contact with the barrier.
That basically ended the session, leaving Antonelli to take fourth and 0.559s off the pace while Russell completed the top five with his lap being 1.005s slower than Leclerc.
McLaren was kind of in its own world in FP1 with Lando Norris taking sixth, 1.313s off the pace, and Oscar Piastri in eighth, both being split by the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg’s team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto took ninth with 10th going to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly ahead of FP2 later on, which commences at 5pm local time.
F1 Monaco GP: FP1 results
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 31
1'13.978
M 162.388 2 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 28
+0.226
1'14.204
0.226 M 161.894 3 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull 26
+0.513
1'14.491
0.287 M 161.270 4
A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 
Mercedes Mercedes 31
+0.559
1'14.537
0.046 M 161.170 5 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 29
+1.005
1'14.983
0.446 M 160.212 6 L. Norris McLaren 1
McLaren Mercedes 27
+1.313
1'15.291
0.308 M 159.556 7 N. Hulkenberg Audi 27
Audi Audi 27
+1.365
1'15.343
0.052 M 159.446 8 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 29
+1.587
1'15.565
0.222 M 158.978 9 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi 31
+1.772
1'15.750
0.185 M 158.590 10 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes 32
+1.850
1'15.828
0.078 M 158.426 11 A. Albon Williams 23
Williams Mercedes 33
+2.011
1'15.989
0.161 M 158.091 12 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes 31
+2.063
1'16.041
0.052 M 157.983 13 I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing 6
Red Bull Red Bull 14
+2.170
1'16.148
0.107 H 157.761 14 S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team 11
Cadillac Ferrari 28
+2.192
1'16.170
0.022 S 157.715 15 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Mercedes 32
+2.211
1'16.189
0.019 M 157.676 16 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 31
+2.314
1'16.292
0.103 M 157.463 17 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari 31
+2.355
1'16.333
0.041 M 157.378 18 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull 34
+2.411
1'16.389
0.056 M 157.263 19 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Red Bull 31
+2.453
1'16.431
0.042 M 157.177 20 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Honda 21
+2.700
1'16.678
0.247 M 156.670 21 V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team 77
Cadillac Ferrari 27
+3.482
1'17.460
0.782 S 155.089 22 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Honda 16
+3.578
1'17.556
0.096 M 154.897 View full results
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Photos from Monaco GP - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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Monaco Grand Prix - Friday
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