MONACO, June 5 : Ferrari laid down a strong marker ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went quickest in Friday's two free practice sessions.After five rounds of Mercedes dominance, the return to Europe on the twisty principality street circuit has been flagged as an opportunity for their rivals, with Ferrari regarded as favourites for Sunday's race.They lived up to their billing with Monaco-born Leclerc delighting the home fans by going quickest in the first run ahead of Hamilton before the positions were flipped in the later session on a warm and sunny afternoon in the principality.Hamilton is still hunting his first victory since joining Ferrari before the start of last season but after finishing second in Canada last month the seven-time world champion arrived in Monaco rejuvenated.
Embracing Monte Carlo's high fashion in a sparkly pink helmet, he clocked one minute 13.026 in the second session, 0.111 ahead of 2024 winner Leclerc. Leclerc had topped the charts with 1:13.978 earlier in the day, with Hamilton 0.226 back.Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third in both sessions as he also showed he could be in the mix on Sunday, although his team mate Isack Hadjar suffered a scare in the first practice as he slammed into the safety fencing on the exit of the swimming pool chicane before walking away unhurt.World championship leader Kimi Antonelli, seeking his fifth win in a row, and his Mercedes team mate George Russell flipped fourth and fifth places in the two practice sessions as the German outfit struggled to match the Ferraris."We expected Ferrari to be the guys to beat, and a lot of people thought that was just chat, but they clearly seem to be," said Russell, who trails Antonelli by 43 points."I think Red Bull have also been a bit of a surprise for us. We knew out of the races so far this was going to be our most challenging. It's probably been slightly more challenging than we would have hoped."Monaco's relatively slow corners and lack of long high-speed straights were expected to negate the power advantage enjoyed by Mercedes, who have won all five races this season.It also meant drivers could worry less about rationing the electrical power from their hybrid engines and focus on handling the 2026 cars on their first outing on a notoriously unforgiving and bumpy circuit around Monaco's landmarks.Shorter and narrower than in recent years, this season's cars also have less downforce and it made for some hair-raising action in the weekend's opening action with cars skimming barriers and twitching around corners.Hadjar was not the only one to make contact with the barriers, with Fernando Alonso damaging the front of his Aston Martin after briefly losing control near the harbour chicane.It was a disappointing day for McLaren with world champion and 2025 Monaco winner Lando Norris stopping early in the second practice with a power unit problem, leaving his car stranded.Norris' team mate Oscar Piastri was seventh fastest.Sergio Perez stopped his Cadillac at Casino Square in the second session with his front brakes on fire.Saturday's qualifying promises to be frenetic, with 22 cars starting the first of the three rounds.Grid position is paramount at Monaco with overtaking notoriously difficult and on the evidence of Friday, Ferrari look well-placed to lock out the front row.
