First Free Practice Report & Results 2026 Monaco F1 GP

Event: Monaco F1 Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit

Weather: dry  24°C
Tarmac: dry  30°C
Humidity: 55%
Wind: 1.8 km/h North

Leclerc Sets Monaco Pace As Red Flags Bite

Charles Leclerc wasted little time reminding the Formula 1 paddock who usually knows his way around Monaco best, topping FP1 for ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a disrupted opening session in Monte-Carlo. The Monegasque set a 1m13.978s to lead Hamilton by 0.226s, with Max Verstappen third for , 0.513s adrift.

Ferrari Start Sharp In The Principality

Monaco has rarely been short of Leclerc drama, but this was the useful kind for Ferrari. Fresh from signing a contract extension, he looked immediately at home on the streets where confidence is currency and millimetres tend to decide whether you look like a genius or need a new front corner.

Hamilton backed up Ferrari’s pace with second place, giving the Scuderia an early one-two and suggesting the SF-26’s cornering strength could be particularly handy around a circuit where straight-line speed matters less than precision, traction and bravery.

Leclerc did clip the barrier at the Swimming Pool during the session, but escaped without damage. At Monaco, that almost counts as a polite warning rather than a mistake.

Red Flags Interrupt The Running

The session was twice halted by red flags, with Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso both finding the barriers.

Hadjar’s accident came at the Swimming Pool after the rear of his car snapped away, sending him into the wall in a heavy impact that damaged the front of the car. He climbed out unaided, but Racing Bulls will have work to do after both drivers also reported steering issues.

Alonso’s incident came later, exiting the tunnel. The Aston Martin driver caught a slide but clipped the barrier, losing part of his front wing before limping back to the pits. The late stoppage meant several drivers were denied fully representative laps, which leaves the FP1 order with the usual Monaco caveat attached.

Mercedes Look Dangerous Too

Kimi Antonelli arrived in Monaco as the championship leader, holding a 43-point advantage after a remarkable run of four straight Grand Prix victories. He was quick again in FP1, particularly once Mercedes moved onto the medium tyre.

George Russell ended up fifth, behind Verstappen, but Mercedes looked competitive enough to be part of the weekend’s sharp end. Zak Brown suggested McLaren viewed the early picture as a likely Mercedes-Ferrari fight, although the orange cars should not be written off after just one scrappy practice hour.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were sixth and seventh, with both still needing to find time before qualifying becomes the weekend’s decisive battleground.

Audi Make A Strong Start

Audi enjoyed one of the more encouraging sessions of their season so far, with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both inside the top 10. More importantly, there were no obvious reliability problems, something that has repeatedly hurt the team in 2026.

Pierre Gasly completed the top 10 for Alpine, while Williams placed both cars just outside that group in 11th and 12th. Sergio Perez also made a respectable start for Cadillac, taking 14th in a session where clean laps were not exactly being handed out for free.

Monaco Already Looks Tight

The biggest question now is whether Ferrari’s early pace is real enough to survive FP2, when the soft C5 tyre should finally reveal more. Leclerc and Hamilton have made the strongest opening statement, but Mercedes look close enough to make Ferrari uncomfortable, while Verstappen can rarely be ignored even when Red Bull appears short of balance.

With traffic, barriers and confidence all already shaping the weekend, Monaco has started exactly as expected: tense, messy and wonderfully unforgiving.

FP1 Times Table 2026 Monaco GP

The quickest sector times during this first practice session were:

• Sector 1: 19.369 sec by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-26.
• Sector 2: 34.858 sec by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-26.
• Sector 3: 19.629 sec by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-26.

Last years quickest lap time of FP1 was a 1:11.964 min, driven by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-25.

✅ Check out our 2026 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Preview.

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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