Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Sainz three-tenths ahead of Alonso

It was on a hot track at 47 degrees that Sergio Perez was the first driver to take to the track during Free Practice 1. Very successful on urban circuits since the start of the season (victorious in Jeddah and Azerbaijan), the Mexican driver may have big ambitions within the Principality. Especially since he is the defending champion of the event.

For the drivers, the objective of this session is not to immediately set the fastest lap, but to familiarize themselves with the track. The proximity to the walls did not hinder some drivers like Carlos Sainz from pushing the limits on his first attempt, brushing the barriers of the Swimming Pool chicane. This effort was rewarded, with the Spanish driver setting the quickest lap of the session with a time of 1’15’198 after 10 minutes. Showing excellent qualifying pace in recent Grand Prix races, Ferrari could benefit from the nature of the circuit to take pole position and position themselves in the best possible conditions to win the race. Especially considering that the two Red Bull drivers did not seem particularly comfortable during the practice sessions.

This trust building is even more crucial for rookies who do not have the experience of the highest level at the Rock. Unfortunate for Logan Sargeant who had to return to the pit after a problem was detected on his Williams. The situation was more cheerful on the other side of the garage with Alexander Albon who, after 30 minutes, occupied the 7th position. Often performing well in qualifying, if the Thai driver has a good Saturday, his weekend could end with important points for his team. Despite this good pace, the former Red Bull driver did not hide a certain discomfort regarding the management of his tires on the team radio.

Yellow Haas

It took almost 40 minutes to see the appearance of a yellow flag. This was caused by Nico Hülkenberg, who tore off his right rear tire after hitting the wall at the entrance of the tenth turn chicane. The race management finally decided to change the yellow flag to a red flag in order to clean the track of some debris. Coincidence or a sign of a difficult Haas to navigate in the streets of Monaco, the second yellow flag of this FP1 was caused by Kevin Magnussen. Coming in with a bit too much speed, the Danish driver was forced to take the escape route at Sainte-Dévote. This small incident had no consequences for the pole sitter of the Brazil 2022 Grand Prix.

The new W14

This free practice session was particularly important for Mercedes, who arrived with a W14 that had undergone many changes since the last Grand Prix. The German team decided to abandon the zero-sidepod concept. With this new car, Lewis Hamilton showed a good level of confidence and managed to temporarily set the fastest lap of the session. However, it was a much more challenging session on the other side of the garage. Complaining about his tires, George Russell languished in a lowly 13th position with 25 minutes of running time remaining.

Monaco could well be the stage for Fernando Alonso’s first victory of the season. The AMR23, being a car with mediocre top speed, this flaw is particularly smoothed out on the Monégasque track. Briefly in first position, the Asturian Bull finished this first session three tenths behind Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

Alexander Albon’s Crash

Finally, the session ended prematurely due to a crash by Alexander Albon. The Williams driver slightly lost control of his car approaching Sainte-Dévote. He clipped the barriers with his rear left tire, causing his car to rebound off the rails, where his front left tire also came off. A costly mistake for Albon, who was in tenth position in the standings. Now he must hope that his car can be repaired for the second free practice session.

So it is Carlos Sainz who has emerged as the fastest driver in these FP1 sessions. The Spaniard is followed by Fernando Alonso, just three tenths behind. Lewis Hamilton, with his new Mercedes, completes the top 3.

FP1 Table