Monaco, May 27, (dpa/GNA) - Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dominated first practice on Friday for his Formula One home grand prix in Monaco which he wants to win for a first time.
The iconic street course has so far not been kind to the Monegasque who is yet to finish an F1 race there.
He topped the first 60-minute session with 1 minute 14.531 seconds on the 3.337-kilometres track, finishing a mere .039 of a second ahead of Sergio Perez of Red Bull.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz was third in the second Ferrari, ahead of title holder and championship leader Max Verstappen who trailed the top by just under two-tenth.
Leclerc and Verstappen were among drivers who needed an escape route to avoid hitting the barriers on the narrow course.
Verstappen dethroned Leclerc at the top of the championship by six points with his fourth season victory in the last race in Spain.
The session was red-flagged for a few minutes after Mick Schumacher’s Haas stopped at the pit lane entrance with a problem that did not allow him to return. Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo had no timed lap.
Mercedes struggled with Goerge Russell in eighth and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton 10th and complaining again about bouncing that his plagued the team all season.
Second practice was scheduled for later Friday, final practice and qualifying is Saturday and the race Sunday. Qualifying is highly important in Monaco because overtaking is almost impossible during the race.
GNA