Lewis Hamilton enthusiastically described the Monaco circuit as “the coolest track ever” following Ferrari`s promising start to the Grand Prix weekend leading up to Saturday`s crucial qualifying session. Hamilton secured the third-fastest time, a mere tenth of a second behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who dominated both Friday practice sessions on his home turf.
While the 2025 season has been largely challenging for Ferrari, and they weren`t widely expected to contend for a win in Monaco, both drivers demonstrated impressive pace early on. This was despite Hamilton encountering traffic incidents and Leclerc having a collision with Lance Stroll during practice.
Hamilton`s excitement for the circuit was palpable: “It was awesome. It’s the coolest track ever to drive, the most fun. Every year is such a blast, no matter what car you’re in.” He acknowledged that a well-performing and fast car certainly helps. “With the grip, the speed, its narrowness, and high pace, it`s the best rollercoaster ride of the year. It’s truly a privilege, as only 20 drivers get to experience this track.” The driver also shared that he texted his assistant earlier, expressing how fortunate he felt to be doing what he loves and how excited he was for the day.
The seven-time world champion has out-qualified Leclerc only once in regular qualifying sessions and faces a tough challenge to surpass last year`s Monaco Grand Prix winner. Hamilton believes he knows where he can gain time and plans to make only minor adjustments to his car`s setup. “I would say there is more to find in my driving, in lines and braking. For example, I can gain a tenth just in Turn 1. There are bits here and there throughout the lap,” he explained. “I`ll make subtle changes to the car. Perhaps we`ll adjust one small thing like a quarter of a degree of camber, but that will be the maximum.”
Despite a mandatory two-tire change rule for Sunday`s race, which is intended to add excitement to the Monaco Grand Prix, qualifying remains critically important due to the extreme difficulty of overtaking on this circuit.
Leclerc aims to maintain his blistering form into Saturday but remains cautiously optimistic about Ferrari`s ultimate pace. “Friday in Monaco is always very special, very specific. I think everyone is still gathering their references. It’s too early to feel overly positive about the weekend,” he stated. “However, Friday has been very positive for us. I felt very good with the car. It didn`t start as I wanted with the crash involving Lance [Stroll], but after that, it was smooth, and overall, I’m happy with the car. The single-lap pace was strong. Whatever tire compound we were on, I felt quite comfortable, and the lap times came pretty quickly, which is always a good sign. Qualifying will be fundamental, and we must start from the front if we want a good result.”
Norris Seeks Marginal Gains, Piastri Recovers
Lando Norris avoided incidents throughout the day but was still outpaced by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the second practice session, finishing fourth and three-tenths behind Leclerc. Norris, who has been out-qualified by Piastri in three of the last four Saturday sessions, admitted he`s still struggling to consistently deliver a perfect qualifying lap. “It’s always good fun here, always stressful, and sometimes just difficult to get clean laps in. It’s a nice feeling. I felt comfortable from the beginning, but I need to make more progress in some areas,” he said. “We are talking about small things. But when you’re talking hundredths here and there, they all add up. It’s just too difficult to get the braking, cornering, tires, and grip all in the perfect window.”
Piastri made a rare unforced error, hitting the wall at Turn 1 during the second session, but managed to reverse and lose minimal track time. Although his confidence initially seemed dented, he quickly recovered to set the second-fastest time behind Leclerc, benefiting from track evolution.
“The whole day has been up and down. When we get everything together, the pace is quite good,” commented Piastri, who currently leads Norris by 13 points in the drivers` standings. “It`s just not proving that easy to do, so there are some things to look at. For me, it`s been a very messy day. I’ll just try and reset because the car`s pace is there. Ferrari looks much stronger than they have before.”
Verstappen and Red Bull Face Challenges
For perhaps the first time this year, Red Bull appeared to be out of contention after Friday`s sessions, with Max Verstappen only managing 10th place, seven-tenths adrift of pace-setter Leclerc. Verstappen explained: “FP1 was quite positive, then we made some changes for FP2 to see how far we could push the balance, and I think we overdid it a little bit.” He added, “I couldn’t attack the corners anymore how I would like, and then you are shredding a lot of pace, and the lap time was not coming out of it. I don’t expect us to be the quickest, but we want to be a lot closer than we were in FP2. However, I’m quite confident we can be much closer. Ferrari again looks very fast. McLaren was close behind, but over the whole season, Ferrari`s pace has taken a big step forward here.”
Monaco Grand Prix Schedule
Saturday, May 24
- 09:40: F3 Sprint
- 11:15: Monaco GP Practice Three (session starts at 11:30)
- 13:10: F2 Sprint
- 14:10: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
- 15:00: MONACO GP QUALIFYING
- 17:00: Ted`s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday, May 25
- 06:55: F3 Feature Race
- 08:35: F2 Feature Race
- 12:30: Grand Prix Sunday: Monaco GP build-up*
- 14:00: The MONACO GRAND PRIX*
- 16:00: Chequered Flag: Monaco GP reaction
- 17:00: Ted`s Notebook
- 17:30: The Indy 500
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event
