Gabriel Bortoleto started the Formula 1 Monaco GP in ninth position. In the first session this Friday (5), the Brazilian improved his time in the final minutes, recorded 1min15s750 and finished within the top-10.
Read more F1: See the complete result of TL1 of the Monaco GP
This weekend in the Principality, the drivers would no longer have a Sprint format stage, after two consecutive ones. Therefore, there are three free practice sessions of 60 minutes each.
So, the clock started in Monte Carlo and in the very first moments, Gabriel Bortoleto left the pits for the first laps. Initially, he warmed up the hard tire, in addition to track reconnaissance.
After a few timed laps, the Audi competitor was only in 15th as opponents were improving their times. But the Brazilian still had plenty of room for improvement.
As expected, the driver of car #5 in Formula 1 managed to improve his mark and placed himself in 12th. However, more drivers also improved and dropped him to 17th – with just over 47 minutes to go, Bortoleto went to the pits.
Almost half of the session had already passed and Gabriel was in 12th position still on hard tires. The Audi driver had a time of 1min17s260 with eight-lap tires and 16 total.
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23 minutes before the end of the first free practice session of the Monaco GP and the first red flag of the weekend came out. Isack Hadjar hit the protective wall hard, destroying his Red Bull, but the driver got out fine.
The practice session finally restarted, with just under 17 minutes left in F1 TL1. With the pits open, Bortoleto was one of the drivers who quickly left the pits to drive more on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Gabriel managed to improve his mark and jumped to 11th position, recording 1min16s261. In comparison, Nico Hülkenberg, also on track, was in sixth position.
Almost at the end of the practice, Bortoleto, now on medium tires, made a leap in the standings and placed himself in ninth position, 1s772 behind Charles Leclerc, the leader. At this moment, a piece of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was in the middle of the track and caused another red flag.
The F1 Monaco GP session ended and Gabriel Bortoleto finished within the top-10 in TL1. The drivers now return to the track at 12:30 PM Brasília time for the second free practice session in Monte Carlo.
Read more F1: Leclerc leads TL1 in Monaco; Bortoleto in top 10
