Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix with Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton chasing him in second as Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull Racing.
Ferrari were tipped to be the team to beat in Monaco and Leclerc's start somehow confirmed that as he delivered a lap time of 1:13.978 to go fastest around the principality, 0.226s clear of Hamilton who was second.
The seven-time Formula 1 Champion was in turn 0.287s clear of Verstappen who was third in his RB22.
It was a decent start for Red Bull Racing as Verstappen expected them to struggle to he bouncy nature of Monaco and while the Dutchman was in the top three, his teammate Isack Hadjar fund the barriers at the swimming pool chicane causing one of two Red Flags in the session.
The second Red Flag was caused by Fernando Alonso who lost control of his Aston Martin between the tunnel and the chicane which meant he hit the barriers and dropped a piece of his front wing on the track towards the end of the session.
Going back to the finishing order, Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth fastest for Mercedes, 0.046s behind Verstappen but almost half a second faster than teammate George Russell who was fifth fastest in the sister car, a worrying start for the Briton.
Reigning F1 Champion Lando Norris was sixth fastest in the McLaren, over 1.3s off the past and was ahead of Nico Hulkenberg who was seventh in the Audi.
Oscar Piastri was eighth fastest in the sister McLaren with Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly ninth and tenth respectively.
Buildup towards FP1
We head to Monaco this weekend for the sixth round of the 2026 F1 season, and there is much to look out for or look forward to.
We start with the FIA changing the regulations and banning the straight-line mode for safety reasons while also fiddling with the electrical deployment when it comes to overtake mode.
The governing body, however, scrapped the mandatory two-stop rule which they trialed in 2025.
In terms of the competition, Ferrari come into this weekend as favorites, with Monaco expected to favor their nimble SF-26 chassis, whose lack of power compared to rivals will not be an issue.
Will the Reds remain composed under the pressure of expectations and not shoot themselves in the proverbial foot?
Hamilton arrives on a high after his Canadian Grand Prix performance, where he utterly outperformed Charles Leclerc, who this weekend has the home advantage as well as a new contract extension.
We will also have to keep an eye on Russell and how he will respond to Antonelli's recent run. Can the Briton outperform the Italian? Will luck be on his side? Will inexperience punish Antonelli around the streets of Monaco?
McLaren will also be hoping for a decent showing this weekend in Monaco which marks their 1000th Grand Prix start, a major milestone only beaten by Ferrari.
In terms of tyres, Pirelli has the softest compound this weekend. C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), and C5 (Soft) as we look to see how degradation will be on the resurfaced track.
As for car upgrades, all teams have bits and pieces, mostly Monaco-related, based on cornering requirements (front suspension) or cooling needs (bodywork and larger brake ducts).
McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull all have striking winglets on the top of their respective rear wings.
Qualifying will be interesting this year with the traffic, especially in Q1 due to having 22 cars out on track at the same time.
FP1 Session Highlights
The session started in clear, dry conditions with track temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius while air temperature was 24 degrees.
The cars lined up in the pitlane waiting for the green light at the exit with Perez leading the pack out on track. All the drivers started in the Hards.
Leclerc immediately had a slight lock up going into Turn 5, no drama as he ended up in the run-off area.
Charles Leclerc has gone straight on at Mirabeau on his out lap! 😳
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
He reverses his Ferrari out and continues#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/atnae1i7Ep
The Lindblad reported that he didn't have "enough steering" for the hairpin. He wasn't alone as Lawson reported struggling with steering in the hairpin saying it it feels like steering lock is on.
There seemed to be a mini civil war between Ocon and Bearman at Haas with the former being asked by his engineer to back off his teammate.
Ocon was unhappy that Bearman blocked him twice but the latter said his teammate is being "stupid".
Tensions flare between the Haas team mates 😳
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
Esteban Ocon gets rather frustrated behind Ollie Bearman on a push lap! #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/f0vuLkWwX8
Hadjar in the Red Bull said his car wasn't drivable up the hill and said the bouncing was crazy.
Leclerc was not holding back, scrapping the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane, but got away with it.
P1 with 40 minutes to go... It's Charles Leclerc 💨👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
1. Leclerc
2. Antonelli
3. Hamilton
4. Verstappen
5. Norris#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/1xAKRhcAvW
Replay showed a piece of carbon fiber fell off the Alpine of Gasly. The Virtual Safety Car was out as a result. It was a brief one though.
Hamilton then locked up into Turn 1, and ended up in the run-off area, but did not hit anything and was soon back on his way.
Locking up and down the run-off road goes Lewis Hamilton at Sainte Devote! 😳
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
But it's nothing a well executed spin-turn can't fix 👌#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/SAazOQE8uP
As the session entered its second half, the driver started running the Medium Pirellis with Cadillac the first team to do so.
Norris had a slide going into the swimming pool chicane but managed to hold it. Hadjar, on the other hand, was not so lucky soon after as his RB22 snapped and he couldn't save it and ended up in the barrier with significant damage on the car and causing a Red Flag.
"I don't understand why it snapped off like that. I'm sorry," the Frenchman radioed.
The car was recovered quickly bit the barrier needed repairs. The session was resumed with less than 20 minutes remaining on the clock
"I'm sorry!" 😢
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
Here is the crash which brought Isack Hadjar's FP1 to a premature end! 👇#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/mkTiXR7kKT
The drivers resumed the running with Medium tyres mostly while Bottas fancied the Softs for his Cadillac.
Lawson had a moment with the barrier. He hit it but kept going and asked his team to check for damage.
Piastri had a moment with Lindblad while the Australian was on a push lap and wasn't happy with the rookie.
Oscar Piastri wasn't impressed after coming across Arvid Lindblad at Tabac corner 👀👇#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/hLrVNxz6p5
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
The Yellow flag was soon up again with a piece of Alonso's front wing on the track.
Replay showed the Spaniard losing control of his AMR26 on his way out of the tunnel and braking into the chicane. His car snapped and the front wing hit the barrier.
The Yellow flag was soon Red. The session was restarted with less than a minute remaining which gave drivers a chance to do some practice starts.
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2026
Fernando Alonso has had a sideways moment at the chicane, leaving a trail of debris in his wake! 😱#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/4fdrEDQjau
Monaco Grand Prix FP1 Classification
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