Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver during the first hour of free practice for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
The session started at lightning fast pace with all the drivers on track getting crucial early running under their belts with the threat of rain looming towards the end of the session. Most teams opted for the hard compound tyres, except Visa Cash App RB and Williams Racing who put their drivers on the mediums.
The laps came thick and fast when the teams switched their drivers onto the soft compound tyres for the qualifying simulations. As usual around the streets of Monte Carlo, many drivers were forced to do multiple laps on their tyres to get the best possible time without traffic.
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Hamilton ended the session at the top of the times, with a 1:12.169. Oscar Piastri was just behind the 7 time world champion and trailed his time by +0.029. George Russell rounded out the top three and a positive session for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team a further +0.097s back from Piastri.
Lando Norris ended the hour down in fourth. Charles Leclerc finished fifth, with his best time coming on the medium tyre – Scuderia Ferrari are yet to show their pace on the soft. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll’s laps were good enough for sixth and seventh, while the RB duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo finished within half a tenth of each other and inside the top ten. Carlos Sainz Jr. was tenth.
Oracle Red Bull Racing didn’t run the soft tyres, and ended down in eleventh and twelfth, Max Verstappen leading Sergio Pérez. Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Alex Albon finished inside the top fifteen. Nico Hülkenberg was fifteenth with Logan Sargeant just behind.
Esteban Ocon ended the session in eighteenth. Zhou Guanyu demonstrated what can happen if you make just a small mistake around Circuit de Monaco, breaking his front wing on the exit of Turn 1. Pierre Gasly got limited running with a power unit issue and rounded out the field.
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| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:12.169 | 35 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:12.198 | +0.029s | 31 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:12.295 | +0.126s | 35 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:12.396 | +0.227s | 33 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:12.397 | +0.228s | 33 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:12.775 | +0.606s | 26 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:12.789 | +0.620s | 26 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:12.875 | +0.706s | 34 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:12.901 | +0.732s | 36 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:12.954 | +0.785s | 35 |
| 11 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:12.984 | +0.815s | 29 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:13.229 | +1.060s | 29 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:13.248 | +1.079s | 28 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:13.390 | +1.221s | 33 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:13.425 | +1.256s | 34 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:13.576 | +1.407s | 34 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:14.150 | +1.981s | 36 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:14.159 | +1.990s | 33 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:14.570 | +2.401s | 30 |
| 20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:15.574 | +3.405s | 10 |