Sergio Perez set the pace as Formula 1 cars hit the streets of Monaco for the first time in two years on Thursday.
The Mexican put his soft tyres to good use as he posted a 1m12.487s late on in opening practice for Red Bull, albeit only 0.161s clear of teammate Max Verstappen in third on the medium compound.
Ferrari had a tale of two drivers, as Carlos Sainz was at or near the top of the timesheets almost the hour of running and would split the two Bulls in P2.
However, teammate Charles Leclerc, who has never finished a race on his home circuit, was forced back to the garage after just four laps with gearbox problems.
#Charles16 had a gearbox problem so unfortunately his session is over.#FP1 #MonacoGP?? pic.twitter.com/mhEsCg5nEq
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 20, 2021
Pierre Gasly also used Pirelli’s fastest tyre to sit fourth for AlphaTauri, ahead of the two Mercedes’ as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas set their best times on mediums.
Newly re-signed Lando Norris was seventh in the Gulf-liveried McLaren, a second faster than teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 15th as the Australian eased his way into the weekend.
Sebastian Vettel looked more comfortable in the Aston Martin in eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda a solid ninth as he tackled Monte Carlo’s streets for the first time.
In terms of incidents, it was F1’s older guard who caused almost all the yellow flags as Kimi Raikkonen took to the escape road at Sainte Devote at one point en route to P10.
Fernando Alonso was the only driver to make hefty contact with the barrier, understeering into the wall at the final corner and damaging his front wing.
Alpine in fact had an underwhelming morning with the double world champion 13th and Esteban Ocon 16th.
The two Haas’ were 17th and 18th, as Nikita Mazepin led Mick Schumacher for the first time in a while.
George Russell was only 19th as Leclerc brought up the standings.
Of course, at this point, the lap times mean very little as drivers get settled on the historic Monaco circuit, but for Red Bull, the initial signs are very positive going forward.
Full results from Practice 1 can be seen below:
