Monaco Grand Prix FP1: Sergio Perez tops the charts for the first time this season, Sainz and Verstappen follow

Monaco Grand Prix FP1: Sergio Perez tops the charts for the first time this season, Sainz and Verstappen follow

Sergio Perez

It was a very good outing for the Red Bull drivers as both of them managed to finish inside the Top 3 at FP1 in the streets of Monte Carlo. Sergio Perez finished in P1 for the first time this season with a lap time of 1 min 12.487 secs on the soft tyres. His teammate, Max Verstappen finished P3 on the mediums, a tenth and a half behind his teammate.

Carlos Sainz split the two Red Bulls with a time of 1 min 12.606. The Spanish driver looked the most convincing this session and adapted to the track well showcasing Ferrari’s speed. Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who also was on the soft tyres, was 4 tenths off the pace and finished fourth overall.

The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished a lowkey P5 and P6 respectively on the medium tyres. They were 5/6 tenths off Perez and four tenths off rival Max Verstappen. The McLaren boys were seen in a Gulf one off livery with Lando Norris finishing P7 and Daniel Ricciardo finishing P15, 1.1 secs behind his teammate. First timer Yuki Tsunoda, 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen rounded up the Top 15.

FS Video

Charles Leclerc out of FP1 due to a gearbox failure

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc

Home star, Charles Leclerc began the session waving to his home fans but the Ferrari driver’s gearbox broke soon after and his session was officially over after just four laps. He finished bottom of the time sheets as a result, 7 secs off the pace.

Most of the drivers opted for the medium tyres while some were on the softs. Only George Russell set his fastest lap on the hards and as a result finished P19, a virtual last position. 2006 and 2007 Monaco winner, Fernando Alonso nudged the wall on in the final corner and brought out a Virtual Safety Car just before the half-way point of the session. He finished P13 in the end, a tenth off his teammate Esteban Ocon who finished P16.

Lance Stroll bagged P11 while Nicholas Latifi finished 5 places ahead of Russell-P14. The Haas pair of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, put their cars 17th and 18th respectively, in their first F1 outings at Monaco.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGqlPs8QEZQ

Also read: “I Haven’t Signed in Formula 1 for the Fifth Place” Charles Leclerc wants First Place