Charles Leclerc started the FP1 of Monaco GP in a similar fashion to last week, by topping the charts.
The Ferrari driver, at his home in Monaco, was followed by Sergio Perez of Red Bull and his teammate Carlos Sainz
Red Bull’s Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen was fourth with Mercedes suffering a repeat of their bouncing issues to fall behind once again.
The 24-year-old Monegasque clocked the best time of one minute and 14.531 seconds on a hot and sunny afternoon in the Mediterranean principality.
Sergio Perez was 0.039 off the leader’s pace, with Carlos Sainz third and 0.070 slower than his teammate.
Verstappen, the last year’s winner around the street circuit, was 0.181 slower than his title rival.
Leclerc famously took pole position in Monaco in 2021 but was unable to start that race due to a driveshaft problem.
He currently sits six points behind Verstappen after retiring from last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix but is hoping to take back the lead on Sunday.
Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren, after resting this week to recover from tonsillitis, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly sixth.
George Russell once again outdid his seven-time world champion teammate with the faster time in eighth with Lewis Hamilton only 10th fastest and complaining that his car was bouncing again.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had warned earlier in the week that the seventh race of the 22-round season could be a tricky one for his team and his prediction came true in Monaco GP FP1.
