Ferrari's Charles Leclerc went quickest in the first free practice on the streets of his hometown as the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix got underway.

Leclerc, who won his home race last year, topped the timesheet with a lap of 1:11.964 set close to the halfway mark of the one-hour session and though with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris got close the Ferrari driver’s time kept him in control until the chequered flag. 

It was a positive end to a session that, for Leclerc, began in less-than-ideal circumstances. Around nine minutes into the session the Monegasque driver came across Lance Stroll who was moving slowly onto the racing line after allowed another car past on the approach to the hairpin. 

With nowhere to go Leclerc slammed into the back of the Canadian’s Aston Martin. The red flags came out and while Leclerc suffered a broken front wing and he was soon lapping again, Stroll’s car would need new rear suspension a change of gearbox. Both drivers were summoned to the stewards to explain the incident.

When the session restarted, it was Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton led the early running on mediums before championship leader Oscar Piastri and his McLaren team-mate Norris pushed ahead, with the latter leading the way with a time of 1:13.615. 

As the first third of the session elapsed, Piastri displaced his team-mate, going 0.005s with a time of 1:13.031. Leclerc then moved ahead of for the final time, setting the FP1 pace at 1m11.964, despite complaining of balance problems. 

In the final runs there were a number of incidents. Norris went straight on at Sainte Devote, while Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar tapped the barriers in the swimming pool section.

Hamilton then almost had a crash in the same section when he got the entry to swimming pool chicane wrong and he went airborne off the kerb on his left. 

Verstappen, meanwhile, had spent most of the session of Hard tyres but late in the hour the Dutchman bolted on a set of C6 Soft tyres. He completed two flying laps on the tyre and the second, a lap of 1:12.127, slotted him into P2, 0.163 behind Leclerc. The world champion's first flyer was only good for seventh, but he then improved to second place 0.286s behind. His third and final attempt saw the Dutchman just 0.163s behind Leclerc, and the same margin ahead of Norris. 

Williams of Alex Albon took fourth place ahead of Piastri, with Mercedes' George Russell in sixth. Sainz was seventh, followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, while Hamilton as Aston's Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.

2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.964 33 166.933
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.127 0.163 30 166.556
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.290 0.326 32 166.180
4 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:12.314 0.350 33 166.125
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.342 0.378 28 166.061
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:12.482 0.518 33 165.740
7 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:12.534 0.570 36 165.621
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:12.669 0.705 29 165.313
9 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:12.690 0.726 30 165.266
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.727 0.763 28 165.182
11 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:12.765 0.801 34 165.095
12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.979 1.015 30 164.611
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:13.187 1.223 35 164.143
14 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:13.232 1.268 32 164.043
15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:13.329 1.365 34 163.826
16 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:13.394 1.430 31 163.680
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:13.429 1.465 37 163.602
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:13.470 1.506 29 163.511
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:13.820 1.856 32 162.736
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:15.635 3.671 4 158.831