Hamilton Tops Monaco Free Practice, Verstappen Struggles

Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the opening free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, edging out McLaren's Oscar Piastri by a mere 0.029 seconds. Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, George Russell, finished third, followed by Lando Norris in the second McLaren.

Local favorite Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, placed fifth, ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. The session was interrupted by a late red flag after Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu lost control of his Sauber and crashed, disrupting teams' plans to switch to soft tires.

Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, struggled in his Red Bull car and finished 11th, 0.815 seconds off the pace. Verstappen complained about the car's handling on the bumpy Monaco circuit, which he had previously described as "one of the more difficult" for his team.

McLaren unveiled a striking yellow and green livery as a tribute to the late Ayrton Senna, who won the Monaco Grand Prix six times. The session began with most teams opting for hard tires, but Piastri set the early pace on softs. Norris and Leclerc traded fastest laps before Hamilton and Russell moved up the order on softs.

Hamilton's fastest lap of 1:12.169 put him at the top of the timesheets before Zhou Guanyu's crash triggered the red flag. The incident also caused damage to Leclerc's Ferrari, forcing him to pit for repairs.

Tags: #FormulaOne, #MonacoGP, #LewisHamilton, #OscarPiastri, #McLaren