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F1 : Ferrari's 1-2 finish in FP1

Charles Leclerc wins FP1, the Scuderia Ferrari driver finishing ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen finished third in the session, ahead of both Mercedes. It's time, the F1 cars are on the track ! Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the first free practice session. It was dominated from start to finish by Ferrari. Mercedes and the other top teams were further behind, on a track that was still slippery, making it difficult to find a good pace. The session was marked by two red flags, caused by Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso.

A tricky start of the session

Right from the start, the drivers had a tough time getting going. With everyone on hard tires, it was difficult to get a feel on the track. Charles Leclerc couldn’t push as hard as his teammate in the opening minutes. Traffic is also already a problem, with 22 cars on the track at the same time this year. Lando Norris expected it to be tough : “At some point it’s going to be intense that’s for sure.”

Ferrari is ready to go…

With all eyes on them in the Principality, the Scuderia confirmed their status. As track conditions improved, both cars found themselves at the front. The Monegasque driver finally settled into his rhythm and led the field by nearly five-tenths of a second at the halfway point of the session. The end of FP1 was marked by two red flags. With 25 minutes remaining in the session, Isack Hadjar spun out at the Piscine corner. Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, made slight contact with the barrier at the tunnel exit, right at the very end of the session, leaving debris on the track. Both incidents were handled quickly and safely by the Monaco Grand Prix marshals.

Mercedes is a little further behind…

The leaders of the constructors' championship got off to a shaky start to the weekend. George Russell was only able to close the gap on his teammate after ditching the hard tires. The Brit finished the session in 5^th place, 0”466 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli (4^th). See you at 5 pm for the second free practice session, where the race pace will be more closely examined. See the complete standings