Monte Carlo local Charles Leclerc got his home event off to the best start on Friday afternoon as he topped the opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver posted a best time of 1:14.531 to pip Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by just 0.039s, with team-mate Carlos Sainz third, seven-hundredths back.
Max Verstappen was fourth quickest running the hardest compound tyre, whilst the Ferraris utilised the yellow-walled C4 mediums. The Dutch driver’s day wasn’t smooth sailing with him suffering from a big lock up at Sainte Devote.
Mick Schumacher caused a solitary red flag when his Haas crawled to a halt at the entrance of the pit lane, forcing Fernando Alonso to slam on the brakes as he rounded the penultimate corner.
There were several complaints of bouncing, notably from Lewis Hamilton, tenth fastest, and Williams’ Alex Albon who ended up 15th.
Lance Stroll also voiced concern over team radio with the Canadian saying he thought he might crash such was the lack of the grip around the tight streets of the principality. He was 12th fastest, two-tenths down on team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the timing sheets with the Finn complaining about a pedal box issue before pitting after completing just two laps.
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 29 | |||
| 2 |
 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 0.039 | 30 | ||
| 3 |
 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 0.070 | 28 | ||
| 4 |
 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 0.181 | 26 | ||
| 5 |
 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 0.525 | 31 | ||
| 6 |
 | Pierre Gasly | RB | 0.552 | 33 | ||
| 7 |
 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 0.626 | 33 | ||
| 8 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | 0.680 | 34 | ||
| 9 |
 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 0.856 | 33 | ||
| 10 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 0.968 | 29 | ||
| 11 |
 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1.005 | 36 | ||
| 12 |
 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1.008 | 26 | ||
| 13 |
| Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 1.218 | 28 | ||
| 14 |
 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1.275 | 30 | ||
| 15 |
 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1.579 | 39 | ||
| 16 |
| Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1.784 | 24 | ||
| 17 |
 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | 1.886 | 27 | ||
| 18 |
| Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 3.183 | 30 | ||
| 19 |
| Mick Schumacher | Haas | 4.105 | 12 | ||
| 20 |
 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 2 |
