Charles Leclerc dominates the first free practice session of the Monaco GP
If rain is still forecast for the race on Sunday (Météo France announces another 80% chance of showers), the weather is sunny and warm in Monaco at the moment. During free practice 1 on Friday, the temperature in the air was 30°C and over 50°C on the track. Non-mandatory conditions to lead the F1 2022, long and wide, on the narrow route of the Principality.
There were therefore logically a few errors, especially at the end of the straight, at the Sainte-Dévote bend, but no material damage for the 20 drivers. And if Valtteri Bottas finished the session without a time, it was because his Alfa Romeo was blocked in the pits due to a mechanical problem.
The fight between Red Bull and Ferrari to finish at the top of the classification continued, and it was the local of the stage, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who finished these first 60 minutes with the best time, in 1 ‘ 14″531, fitted with medium tyres. He was ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull) by three hundredths, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) by seven hundredths and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by 18 hundredths.
The Alpines out of the top 10
The best of the rest is Lando Norris (McLaren), who is still recovering from strep throat and missed morning press conferences, but doesn’t seem to be in too much pain in the car. The Briton finished five tenths behind Leclerc, ahead of Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), George Russell (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who complained a lot about problems of porpoising.
The first ten are held in one second and for information, last year, the fastest EL1 was Sergio Perez, in 1’12 “487. Fairly dull session for Alpine, with the 13th time of Fernando Alonso, at 1 “2 from Leclerc, and the 16th from Esteban Ocon, at 1″7.