Max second in Monaco FP1

Published on 23 May 2025 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished second in the opening practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix. Local hero Charles Leclerc was quickest. The Ferrari driver was a tenth and a half faster than the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver in the streets of Monte Carlo. Lando Norris completed the top three. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished in fifth.

The session gets underway in sunny conditions. In the first batch of flying laps, Max and Lewis Hamilton are the early pace setters. Unlike his Ferrari team mate, Charles Leclerc does not have the smoothest of starts. After going wide at Mirabeau, and rejoining the track without damage, the Monegasque tangles with Lance Stroll at the Hotel hairpin. The Aston Martin appears to have missed the blue flags for the approaching Leclerc and steers into the path of the emerging Ferrari. The result is a broken wing for Leclerc, who limps home to the pits and more serious session-ending damage to Stroll’s car.

After a brief red flag, to clear the debris created by the Leclerc/Stroll clash, the session resumes with Lando Norris clocking the quickest lap thus far. The McLaren driver is joined at the top of the timing charts by teammate Piastri and the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton. Max follows suit in fifth.

With fifteen minutes to go, both Red Bulls head back out on track. Max ventures out on the soft Pirellis. His first timed effort, a 1:12.6 propells him to sixth, before bettering his time twice in subsequent flying laps. In the end, his 1:12.250 is good enough for P2, a tenth and a half behind pace setter Leclerc.

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