F1 Monaco Practice 1: Charles Leclerc goes top in hometown
27th May 2022Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timing sheets in the first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton complained about bouncing.
How practice unfolded…
Due to the tight nature of Monaco’s infamous circuit, the majority of the drivers went straight out as the pit exit light went green. By the five minute mark, Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) were yet to set a timed lap.
After 10 minutes past in FP1, the hometown hero, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timing boards with a 1:15.883.
Verstappen soon jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:15.327 with the hard compound tyres, 0.387 seconds quicker than Leclerc who was on the medium tyres. However, just after the Dutch driver secured the quickest lap, the yellow flags were waved. It was soon found that Leclerc had opted to go into the run off area at turn one, his car was failing to slow down as he approached Saint Devote.
With just over 40 minutes to go, a yellow flag was brought out in sector three as the Haas of Mick Schumacher was found blocking the pit lane entry. The yellow flag was soon upgraded to a red flag.
The young German suffered a mechanical issue and was warned not to shift gears by his pit wall. As he approached the pit lane, the car wouldn’t move under its own power and it left Schumacher stranded at the pit lane entry.
Alexander Albon, Williams, almost wrapped it into the Nouvelle Chicane as the session came down to its final 20 minutes. As he bolted out of the tunnel, into the downhill section, his rear tyres temporarily lost grip into the braking zone. Thankfully, the young Williams driver was able to regain control and avoid a collision with the barrier.
In a bid to avoid heroics into Saint Devote, Verstappen was forced into the turn one run off area. The Dutch Red Bull driver opted to go for the safe option rather than chance making the corner as he locked up into turn one, he ruined his front-right medium tyre as a result.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen suffered the same turn one issue, as Verstappen, with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Despite Mercedes’ upgrades in Barcelona, last time out, which seemingly eliminated their porpoising issues, it seems the bouncing had returned. In the dying minutes, Hamilton came over his respective radio and stated ‘it’s bouncing so much.’
That’s it for the article: F1 Monaco Practice 1: Charles Leclerc goes top in hometown!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
