CHARLES LECLERC FASTEST AT HOME DURING MONACO GP PRACTICE; STROLL PENALIZED

The prestigious Monaco Grand Prix kicked off this Friday in the Principality. It marks the end of the first third of the 2025 Formula 1 season. It is also the second of three consecutive GPs. All eyes in Monaco are on Charles Leclerc, the event’s only local, who won in 2024 in his Ferrari.

Alongside Carlos Sainz (Williams), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Oliver Bearman (Haas), the latter took part in a charity soccer match on Wednesday for the Jules Bianchi (named after Charles Leclerc’s mentor, who died on July 17, 2015 as a result of injuries sustained in his crash at the Suzuka Grand Prix in 2014) and Be Safe Monaco associations.

On the same evening, all the drivers, with the exception of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Quebecer Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), attended a preview screening of the F1 film, and on Thursday Adrian Newey made his first official appearance in the paddock with Aston Martin. Finally, in the run-up to the race weekend in Monte Carlo, the FIA had some organizational problems, and many journalists and photographers did not receive their accreditations until Friday.

Free practice 1

The weather was good in Monaco for the first of this weekend’s three free practice sessions. The sun was out and the ambient temperature was 22°C. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) was the first of the 20 drivers to join the 3.337-kilometer, 19-turn temporary urban circuit. Charles Leclerc soon missed his braking at Mirabeau Haut and had to take the emergency lane. He then took a walk and drove off as if nothing had happened. Lance Stroll took first place.

But his moment of glory was short-lived. Eight minutes into the session, Charles Leclerc arrived at the Fairmont hairpin. With the blue flags waving, he began to overtake Stroll. Stroll didn’t see him and abruptly changed trajectory. The Ferrari driver could no longer avoid him and slammed into the rear of the AMR25. Luckily, only a piece of the SF-25’s wing was broken, and the two continued on to their respective garages. A red flag was nevertheless waved to remove the debris from the track. Shortly before the incident, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) had moved to the top of the timesheets.

On the restart, the rear of Stroll’s Aston Martin was too badly damaged and he had to stay in the pits. The two McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, battled it out for first place. By mid-session, Lewis Hamilton was stealing the limelight from the McLarens, before Lando Norris regained the lead.

With 25 minutes to go, Charles Leclerc set the fastest provisional time. As for Pierre Gasly, he had to dodge Oliver Bearman’s Haas, which cut the Chicane. Max Verstappen then narrowly avoided Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber). Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris took a detour via the Saint-Dévote distress lane before returning to the track.

At the end of Free Practice 1, Charles Leclerc still had the fastest time, 1’11”964. He was ahead of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon (Williams) and Oscar Piastri. George Russell (Mercedes) finished sixth, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Lance Stroll finished last, as he was only able to complete four laps due to an incident with Charles Leclerc. For full standings, click here.

Free practice 2

Prior to this second free practice session, Lance Stroll received a penalty place on the Grand Prix grid for having caused the accident with Charles Leclerc. Liam Lawson was once again the first driver to take to the track. As for the weather, it was still hot in Monaco, with 23°C in the air.

In the first minutes of Free Practice 2, Isack Hadjar hit a Chicane wall and punctured his left rear tire. He was briefly stopped on the track and a red flag was displayed. However, the Racing Bulls driver restarted and slowly brought his VCARB02 back to the pits. At this point, Max Verstappen dominated the session.

On the restart, Oscar Piastri stole first place from the Dutchman, only to miss his braking momentarily at Saint-Dévote. The Australian was unable to swerve into the danger lane and hit a wall. He lost his front wing in the process, but made it back to the pits. Nevertheless, the session was stopped to clear the debris. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc had set the provisional fastest time.

When practice resumed towards the middle of the session, Fernando Alonso took first place, only to have it snatched from him by Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard was not to be deterred, however, and set a new best time. Charles Leclerc then delighted the Monegasque fans by dislodging Fernando Alonso.

With ten minutes to go, Isack Hadjar brought out a yellow flag after hitting the wall at Saint-Dévote. His Racing Bulls was damaged and he had to restart in slow motion. Max Verstappen missed his braking maneuver at Mirabeau Haut and went through the distress lane before continuing the session.

At the end of Free Practice 2, Charles Leclerc maintained his lead with a time of 1’11”355. Oscar Piastri followed close behind, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. Fernando Alonso, Alexander Albon, Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen completed the top 10. Lance Stroll finished 18th this time. For the full standings, click here.

Free practice 3 will be held this Saturday before qualifying, which takes place at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. Quebec time).

Source article : https://www.poleposition.ca/actualite/2025/05/23/charles-leclerc-est-le-plus-rapide-a-domicile-lors-des-essais-du-gp-de-monaco-stroll-penalise/