F1: Leclerc leads TL1 in Monaco; Bortoleto in top 10

Ferrari driver leads team’s one-two at home, while Antonelli keeps Mercedes in contention and Bortoleto recovers after gearbox difficulties to finish among the top ten fastest

Charles Leclerc started his home weekend in the best possible way. The Ferrari driver led the first free practice session for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, held this Friday (5), by setting a time of 1min13s978 on the streets of the Principality. The session was marked by two red flags, accidents, balance among the main teams on the grid, and an important recovery from Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished among the top ten fastest despite facing technical problems for much of the activity.

The sixth round of the season began surrounded by expectations. On one hand, Ferrari was banking on the traditional strength of the SF-26 in low-speed corners. On the other, Mercedes arrived boosted by Kimi Antonelli’s sequence of four consecutive victories and the Italian’s 43-point lead in the championship. McLaren, in turn, landed in Monte Carlo with the biggest update package of the weekend, while Red Bull and Audi also presented novelties in their cars.

With a clean track and pleasant temperature, the drivers started the session using hard tires. In the very first minutes, Monaco’s characteristic difficulty became evident. Charles Leclerc went off at Mirabeau on his first fast lap, needing to reverse to get back on track. Arvid Lindblad complained about the lack of steering to navigate the famous Fairmont hairpin, while several drivers gradually sought confidence to get closer to the guardrails.

The lead changed several times during the first half of the session. Max Verstappen even took the lead and showed consistent speed, even though he later complained about excessive tire wear and traffic. Lewis Hamilton also led momentarily and drew attention for Ferrari’s competitive pace.

But it was Leclerc who began to show strength as the track evolved. The Monegasque recorded a series of fast laps and took the lead with 1min14s928, opening about half a second advantage over Hamilton. In one of these passes, the Ferrari driver even scraped his left tires on the guardrail, highlighting the level of commitment required to extract performance in Monte Carlo.

Mercedes responded in the second half of the session. Antonelli and George Russell swapped hard tires for mediums and began to feature among the fastest. Antonelli took the lead with 1min14s537, reinforcing the excellent phase of the German team and the championship leader.

Meanwhile, Audi experienced a session of contrasts. Nico Hulkenberg was one of the big surprises of the practice. The German repeatedly appeared among the top five and even held fourth position at certain points in the session, showing a performance far above what the team had been presenting in previous rounds.

Gabriel Bortoleto, on the other hand, faced a much more complicated morning. The Brazilian reported over the radio that his car was “undriveable” and the team identified a gearbox synchronization problem. With few laps completed in the first half of the session, he reached 20th position and was among the drivers who completed the fewest laps.

Even with the difficulties, Audi chose to keep the Brazilian on track to collect information. Gradually, Bortoleto began to recover ground. First he moved up to 12th, then entered the top 10, and in the final minutes, he recorded 1min15s750 to end the session in ninth place, just two positions behind teammate Hulkenberg.

The first significant interruption occurred about twenty minutes from the end. Isack Hadjar lost control of the Racing Bulls at the entrance to the Swimming Pool complex, crashed heavily into the barriers, and caused a red flag. The impact significantly damaged the front and rear of the car, raising doubts about possible gearbox damage for the rest of the weekend.

Isack Hadjar (FRA) Red Bull Racing RB22 crashed in the first practice session.

After the restart, the drivers began qualifying simulations using medium tires. Hamilton briefly took the provisional lead with 1min14s204, but was quickly surpassed by Leclerc, who recorded 1min13s978 and reclaimed the top of the standings.

Shortly after, a new interruption occurred. Fernando Alonso touched the wall and lost part of his front wing at the tunnel exit. Debris scattered on the track caused another red flag. Race control managed to restart the activity in the final seconds, but without enough time for drivers to complete new fast laps.

As a result, Leclerc finished FP1 in the lead, followed by Hamilton. Verstappen was third, Antonelli fourth, and Russell completed the top 5. Hulkenberg confirmed Audi’s pleasant surprise by finishing sixth, ahead of Norris, Piastri, Bortoleto, and Pierre Gasly.

Race control also noted some incidents for review after the session. Liam Lawson was noted for leaving the pits on a red light, while an incident involving Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri will be investigated for possible impeding during a fast lap.

The second free practice session of the Monaco GP will take place later this Friday, at 12 PM (Brasília time), and should offer a clearer view of the balance between Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren in the fight for the season’s most important pole position. Follow LIVE and in REAL TIME on F1Mania.net.

Check out the results of FP1 for the F1 Monaco GP:
1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’13.978
2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’14.204
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’14.491
4) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’14.537
5) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’14.983
6) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’15.291
7) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’15.343
8) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’15.565
9) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’15.750
10) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’15.828
11) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’15.989
12) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’16.041
13) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’16.148
14) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’16.170
15) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’16.189
16) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’16.292
17) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’16.333
18) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’16.389
19) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’16.431
20) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’16.678
21) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’17.460
22) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’17.556