Everything that happened in first Monaco GP F1 practice

Charles Leclerc was fastest on home ground as the Monaco Grand Prix weekend began.

Key moments

– Leclerc leads Perez, Sainz and Verstappen
– Both Red Bulls and Leclerc have minor offs
– Schumacher problem causes red flag
– Lots of bouncing woe at Mercedes

Though the top four ended up a mix of Ferraris and Red Bulls, heavy traffic, a stoppage and yellow flags for various minor incidents meant everyone struggled for clear runs and to set representative times.

Mick Schumacher caused a mid-session red flag by parking his Haas in the pit entry while struggling back having reported what he initially felt was a gearbox problem. With the throttle then also malfunctioning, Haas later reported the root cause was likely to be the MGU-K.

“You can’t park there sir!” 😅#HaasF1 #MonacoGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/g0oaWNjxIo

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) May 27, 2022

Schumacher had at least managed 12 laps before then, whereas Valtteri Bottas did just two installation laps in his Alfa Romeo prior to a problem that required the team to remove the rear from the car.

Max Verstappen was fastest in the first part of the session even though he was on hard tyres while many others went straight to mediums.

After the Schumacher red flag there was a brief period of a McLaren 1-2, with Lando Norris – still recovering from tonsillitis – ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, before the Ferraris and Red Bulls moved back ahead.

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Verstappen had another spell on top but it was ultimately title rival Leclerc who set the pace with a 1m14.531s, 0.039s ahead of Sergio Perez.

Carlos Sainz and Verstappen completed a top four covered by 0.181s.

Both Red Bulls and Leclerc were among a host of cars to have lock-ups and scoot down the Sainte Devote escape road, rejoining without drama.

Verstappen slots it into P1 💪

But then heads down the escape road at Sainte Devote 😅#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/WuKgbAtQ2H

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2022

The McLarens stayed near the front in fifth and seventh, sandwiching Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri.

Mercedes was eighth and 10th with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, split by Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin, and with strong radio complaints from Hamilton about how much the car was bouncing.

Practice 1 Results