Monaco – EL1: Leclerc and Ferrari narrowly ahead of Red Bull
After dominating the three free practice sessions of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona last weekend, Charles Leclerc again set the benchmark time the first driving session in the Principality. The local hero, born on the Rock, set a time of 1’14″531 and edged Sergio Perez (+0″039) and Carlos Sainz (+0″070) by nothing, while championship leader Max Verstappen finished 4th, 0”181 off the Monegasque’s time.
The Dutchman had however very quickly got into the rhythm, as usual, by being the first to sign a reference mark in 1’15 “327 on Hard tires, while the majority of his opponents were on Medium tires. . He was first dispossessed of the head of the time sheet mid-session by a Lando Norris (McLaren) who is not yet fully recovered from his tonsillitis. The McLarens, which also display the Ayrton Senna logo as a tribute, appeared in good shape on the route of the Principality, with a Norris 5th when Ricciardo, winner here in 2018, was in 7th place (+0”626) .
Verstappen and Leclerc still have it up their sleeves
If Max Verstappen was the first to go below the 1’15 mark, it was ultimately Charles Leclerc who took the best time of the session. His teammate at Ferrari Carlos Sainz, who in the wake of the reference time signed by the Monegasque, had lit the first two sectors in purple, finally had to cut his effort by encountering traffic in the chain of the Swimming pool. The Spaniard seemed to attack hard for a first session, and does not seem to be taken aback by his mistakes in recent weeks.
The drivers took advantage of this first run of the weekend with these new single-seaters to get their bearings and test the limits. Thus, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen all three shot straight at the first corner of Sainte-Dévote, when many drivers preferred to bypass the new chicane, located at the exit of the tunnel. Note that neither the Ferrari drivers nor the Red Bull drivers have fitted Soft tyres. The latter probably preferred to make their mark on this first session without wasting any red rubber. In the top 10, only Vettel (10th) in one.
Push hard in training 😳👊
Verstappen 👉 👈 Leclerc
The first two of the championship both started in the Sainte Dévote loophole 👀#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/jp3fzYqPbm
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2022
Note that the session was temporarily interrupted by a red flag added by Mick Schumacher. The Haas driver was indeed betrayed by his mechanics after twenty minutes of the session, blocking the entrance to the pits while the always very fast stewards cleared the Haas of the way. Excellent performance from Frenchman Pierre Gasly, still very comfortable here and who set the 6th fastest time, sandwiched between the two McLarens. After their good weekend in Catalonia, Mercedes are in the top 10 but Lewis Hamilton complained a lot about the rebound.
Hamilton notably requested that foam be installed in his single-seater to protect his elbows. The Briton has indeed taken the radio on numerous occasions to complain about the goal of the W13. Valtteri Bottas did not sign a single lap, due to a technical problem discovered by Alfa Romeo on his single-seater. At Alpine, Alonso finished 13th and Esteban Ocon 16th. The second free practice session will take place this Friday at 5 p.m.
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