Leclerc Tops Monaco Practice Sessions, Remains Cautious About Ferrari’s Pace

MONACO, May 23 – Charles Leclerc led both practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, despite expressing doubts about Ferrari‘s long-term competitiveness throughout the weekend. The Monegasque driver, who won the race last year, finished with a best time of 1:11.355 seconds in the second session.

Leclerc, who downplayed expectations earlier in the week after a tough start to the 2025 season, found himself on top of the leaderboard after overcoming a brief collision with Lance Stroll‘s Aston Martin early in the first session.

“Maybe a bit less convinced, but yeah, I’m not convinced the other way either,” Leclerc said. “It’s too early to feel very positive about the weekend, but today was very positive for us.”

In the first practice session, additional challenges arose for Leclerc when he collided with Stroll, who veered across his path. The incident required Leclerc to pit for a new front wing while Stroll’s damage forced him to retire from the session due to gearbox issues.

Teammate Lewis Hamilton also performed well, finishing third overall in FP2, just 0.105 seconds behind Leclerc. Hamilton stated, “FP1 was quite a challenge but FP2 was much better. There’s more time to find, but it’s a good session overall.”

Oscar Piastri, the championship leader from McLaren, managed to recover from a crash at Sainte Devote to place second, just 0.038 seconds behind Leclerc. “When we get everything together, the pace is quite good,” Piastri said. “But it was a messy day for me.”

The session included two red flags due to crashes, including Piastri’s and a second incident involving rookie Isack Hadjar, who damaged his car hitting the barriers twice. After the red flags, the competitors continued to navigate the tight street circuit.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso finished seventh for Aston Martin, while Max Verstappen, who won last weekend at Imola, struggled, finishing tenth. He remarked, “We want to be a lot closer than in FP2 but I’m quite confident we can do that.”

Qualifying will be critical for the grid positions on race day, as many teams are still struggling with the unique challenges posed by the Monte Carlo streets. The anticipation for Saturday’s practice and qualifying builds as drivers prepare to battle for one of the season’s most prestigious races.