Charles Leclerc topped the opening practice for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix with a 1:13.978 lap, putting him 0.226 seconds clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton and more than half a second ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The Ferrari's pace came after an early lock‑up at Mirabeau and a brief queue in the pit lane as the session began.
The hour‑long session was twice halted by red flags. First, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crashed into the Swimming Pool chicane, bringing out the flag and prompting a safety car while marshals cleared the damaged RB22. Later, debris from Fernando Alonso’s front wing, after he clipped the tunnel barriers, forced another stoppage. Both Leclerc and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson were flagged for possible impeding, and Hamilton also suffered a lock‑up at Sainte‑Devote.
When the session resumed, Hamilton briefly reclaimed the top spot with a 1:14.204, but Leclerc’s earlier 1:13.978 held for pole position. Verstappen, Antonelli and George Russell completed the top five, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten. Teams now have a short window to analyse data before Free Practice 2 at 17:00 local time, where tyre strategies and the new Monaco winglets will be further tested.
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