Formula 1

Monaco GP: Sainz leads Alonso as Albon crashes in Practice 1

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Carlos Sainz led a Spanish one-two ahead of Fernando Alonso in the first practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver emerged unscathed from an early brush with the barrier at the Swimming Pool chicane to set the pace for much of the opening hour of running on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Sainz, Alonso and third-placed Lewis Hamilton were among those to set their best times in the perfect window between two red flags, the second of which ended the session early.

Session Review

Ferrari led the way after the initial runs with Sainz ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen ran in the top four but complained of bottoming in his Red Bull and returned to the pits for changes.

Mercedes made a tentative start as they ran their new-look upgrades for the first time before Hamilton would go fastest after fitting his second set of tyres.

In contrast, teammate George Russell struggled with tyre temperature and reported sliding through the Massanet/ Casino Square section.

Nico Hulkenberg would cause a brief red flag after hitting the inside barrier at the Nouvelle chicane and damaging his left-rear wheel rim.

When the session resumed, Fernando Alonso immediately went out and went fastest on medium tyres, dropping into the 1m13s.

Verstappen and Hamilton got up close in the final sector as both shortcutted the Nouvelle chicane with the Red Bull overtaking the Mercedes on the run to Tabac.

The Dutchman's frustrations continued on his next flying lap as he ran wide at the Swimming Pool after losing the rear on entry.

At the same moment, Sainz put Ferrari back on top with a 1m13.372s, three-tenths faster than Alonso.

That would be the fastest time of the session as a heavy crash for Alex Albon at Sainte Devote ended the action early in Practice 1.

Hamilton's earlier lap was enough to follow the two Spaniards in third, ahead of Sergio Perez, who built his way up to fourth.

Local hero Leclerc was seven-tenths slower than his teammate in fifth, though his best time was set earlier in the session.

Verstappen eventually finished sixth following his difficult start to the weekend, followed by Lando Norris's McLaren in seventh.

Esteban Ocon claimed P8 as Lance Stroll and Albon, despite ending in the barriers, completed the top 10.

Valtteri Bottas sat 11th in the heavily upgraded Alfa Romeo, 0.007s in front of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas in P12.

Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th, ahead of former teammate Pierre Gasly in 14th and Russell in a lowly 15th.

Nyck De Vries, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant finished 16th-18th as all three got their first taste of Monaco in F1 machinery.

Sargeant's session wasn't easy, however, as he had to limp back to the pits with a possible loose wheel.

Zhou Guanyu was 19th and Hulkenberg brought up the field after his bump with the Armco.

Full results from Practice 1 can be seen below:

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