Leclerc leads in Monaco; Alonso suffers crash in FP1

Charles Leclerc set the pace in the first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix, putting his Ferrari ahead of Lewis Hamilton. However, the session was not smooth for everyone. Carlos Sainz finished twelfth with Williams, while Fernando Alonso had a scare by crashing his Aston Martin, causing a red flag that halted track activity.

Ferrari SF-24 of Leclerc leading at the Fairmont curve of the Monaco circuit, blue exhaust smoke and sparks from the rear diffuser scraping the asphalt, while Alonso's Aston Martin crashes into the protective barriers at the pool exit, debris flying and red flag waving at the marshals' post, engineers in the garage observing telemetry on monitors with speed and braking graphs, photorealistic cinematic style, intense Mediterranean light, metallic reflections on the single-seaters, clouds of dust and burnt rubber, ultra-detailed

Ferrari and Mercedes show their cards in the principality 🏎️

Leclerc's performance on the Monegasque streets suggests that Ferrari has found an effective setup for the SF-24, especially in slow corners and direction changes. Hamilton, with the Mercedes W15, showed competitiveness in the twistiest sectors, although the Brackley team is still working on low-speed traction. In contrast, Williams and Aston Martin seem to struggle to generate temperature in the front tires, a critical factor on this street circuit.

Alonso signs up for the barrier baptism 💥

Fernando Alonso decided that the best way to get to know the asphalt of Monaco was by embracing the protections. The Asturian tested the resistance of the barriers at the pool, a classic that no driver wants to debut. At least, the crash saved him time: he won't have to walk the circuit on foot to inspect the spots where the car should not go. Pure efficiency.