2024 F1 Round 8 Monaco GP FP1: Hamilton fastest in 1m12.169s, Zhou crash brings red flag, Verstappen only 11th

The 2024 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Round 8 of the season, got under way on the streets of Monte Carlo on the evening of 24 May, Beijing time. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton topped first practice with a 1m12.169s, just 0.029s ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. George Russell was third and Lando Norris fourth, giving McLaren and Mercedes the top four places.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death. McLaren brought a yellow-and-green Brazilian-themed tribute livery to both MCL38s for Monaco, and Piastri took the Senna-inspired car to the second-fastest time, only 0.029s behind Hamilton, to make a strong start to the weekend. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and tenth respectively.

With about 15 minutes remaining, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu clipped the barrier at the exit of Sainte-Devote, Turn 1, scattering debris across the track and bringing out the red flag. Practice was stopped for around five minutes. Home favourite Leclerc ran over the debris, causing minor damage to the front of his floor. Ferrari used tape for a temporary repair and sent him back out, and he still finished the session fifth.

It was a difficult day for reigning champions Red Bull. Like Ferrari’s drivers, Verstappen and Pérez did not use soft tyres during the session and ended up 11th and 12th respectively. Pérez also suffered a puncture near the end. Verstappen complained on the radio: “The car is too loose over the bumps, and the interaction with engine braking and brake balance is terrible.” Before the weekend, he had already predicted that the RB20’s weaknesses over bumps and kerbs would leave Red Bull struggling in Monaco.

Sainte-Devote was an incident hotspot. As well as Zhou, Bottas, Albon and Hülkenberg all went off there at different points, triggering yellow flags. Both Alpines ended the session with problems: Gasly completed only ten laps because of a power unit issue, while Ocon reported poor stability at the front.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda carried his strong form from the previous round at Emilia-Romagna into Monaco, placing eighth behind the two Aston Martins. Team mate Ricciardo was ninth, just 0.026s slower, putting both RB cars in the top ten.

Monte Carlo was sunny on Friday, with an air temperature of 20°C and a track temperature of 37°C at the start. The forecast rain did not affect the session’s dry running. As usual, the teams brought Monaco-specific ultra-high-downforce rear wings and beam wings.