Charles Leclerc led both practice sessions Friday at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The second session, which was interrupted by two red flags, including one caused by point leader Oscar Piastri.
Leclerc turned a best lap one minute, 11.355 seconds to edge Piastri by .038 seconds. However, Piastri brought a red flag when he nosed his McLaren into the barrier at Sainte Devote.
“Monaco is always very special, not just to me but to anyone driving on this track,” Leclerc said. “On Fridays, everyone is taking their reference points. It’s still too early to feel very confident for the weekend, but it has been a positive first day on track for us. Our one-lap pace was strong and I felt comfortable in the car, no matter which compound we were running on.
“Qualifying is going to be fundamental around here as usual and we have to be starting in front if we want to bring home a good result.”
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was third on the speed charts.
Lando Norris was fourth in the second McLaren, while Liam Lawson rounded out the top five for the Racing Bulls, with his teammate Isack Hadjar, who also had an off-course excursion sixth.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was 10th for Red Bull.
Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman was assessed a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race for not honoring a red flag during the second practice session.
