Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two as Hadjar crashes in Monaco practice

Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari the ideal start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, leading Lewis Hamilton in a one-two in first practice with a lap of 1:13.978, 0.226 seconds clear of his new team-mate.

The session on the 3.337-kilometre Monte Carlo street circuit was twice stopped by red flags and never settled into a clean rhythm, leaving the early order open to interpretation. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull, 0.513 seconds off Leclerc, but the lap times came amid interruptions that made the benchmark harder to trust than at most circuits.

Leclerc’s session had its own moments of risk before the clock stopped him for anyone else. The Monaco home favourite brushed the barriers at the Swimming Pool chicane and later sparked a brief virtual safety car period, while Hamilton produced a lock-up at Sainte Devote that brought out a yellow flag. Then Isack Hadjar brought out the second red flag with just under 24 minutes remaining when he crashed at the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane, damaging the nose of his Red Bull before walking away unassisted and apologising over team radio.

For Ferrari, the headline was not just the margin but the setting. Monaco is the one place on the calendar where one lap can outweigh long-run pace, tyre management and race-day strategy, because overtaking is so difficult and qualifying usually decides the winner. That made Leclerc’s speed on Friday especially significant as Formula 1 opened the European leg of the season and entered round 6 of the championship.

The timing also sharpened the spotlight on Hamilton. His lap left him just over two tenths behind Leclerc, a useful reference point for a Ferrari line-up that is still taking shape as the team learns how much performance it can extract on a circuit that rewards confidence, traction and precision more than outright horsepower. If Ferrari can repeat anything close to this form, the circuit may suit the package this weekend.

Still, Monaco has a way of rewriting Friday assumptions. Leclerc topped both Friday practice sessions here in 2025 and then said he was “not convinced” the pace would last, a reminder that practice glory in Monte Carlo can be fragile. With practice continuing later on Friday, qualifying set for Saturday, June 6, and the race on Sunday, June 7, the true picture will only sharpen once the track stops interrupting and the stopwatch starts deciding everything.