Spain dominate in Monaco

After the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last Sunday due to heavy rains which fell on the region of northern Italy, Formula 1 settled down on the side of Monaco, for the Grand Prix on most glamorous of the year. And the blue sky and the heat were there this Friday at the start of the afternoon for the first free practice session. A session marked by two red flags and won by Carlos Sainz Jr at the wheel of his Ferrari. The Spanish driver signed 26 laps, one of which was 1’13″372.

He found himself at the top of the timesheet several times during the first half of the session, alternating with his teammate Charles Leclerc, who dreams of a first victory on home soil. But then it was the elders who took power, Lewis Hamilton taking control shortly before the half-hour session, before Fernando Alonso came to dislodge him. However, Carlos Sainz, twelve minutes from the end, was back in the lead. The Ferrari driver was 338 thousandths ahead of his compatriot Fernando Alonso, whose Aston Martin still works just as well, and 663 thousandths Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes benefited from some changes this weekend.

Hülkenberg and Albon injured

Two red flags, fortunately not serious for the drivers, punctuated this session. First it was Nico Hülkenberg (last in this session), on his Haas, who damaged his left rear wheel when he hit the safety barrier after 38 minutes of session, which led to just under five minutes of interruption. And at the very end of the session, it was Alexander Albon (10th) who destroyed his Williams at Ste-Dévote. There is little chance of seeing him during the second session at 5:00 p.m. On the Alpine side, Esteban Ocon concluded his hour of testing in eighth position, one second and two tenths behind Sainz, and Pierre Gasly in fourteenth place at one and a half seconds. Double world champion Max Verstappen finished sixth, 872 thousandths from the winner.