Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso have given themselves license to dream big in Monaco. At least, that’s how it can be deduced from the first free practice on the Monegasque urban layout, where in the first full contact of the cars the two Spaniards took the top positions. Sainz led Alonso by 3 tenths, until a red flag due to an accident by a Williams put an end to the session prematurely.
The alternation at the top of the time table was the keynote of the first free session of the Monaco GP. Usually dominated the first tests by the Red Bull, on the urban layout of the Principality it was the two Ferraris, Sainz and Leclerc, Alonso’s Aston Martin and Hamilton’s Mercedes that alternated in first place.
The greatest dominance was from Sainz, who in the final stretch of the session improved his time and put 3 tenths of a second behind Alonso. The Spaniard had an amusing conversation with his track engineer to whom he promised that he would get into the middle of the line (to hinder the rivals) on his slow laps, complaining that they were slowing him down.
Alonso, hopeful, warned in the preview on Thursday that he planned to attack in Monaco “more than in any other weekend”, to seek his 33rd victory in F1.
The inaugural test session of the Monaco GP revealed the power of the two Ferraris, but also that the Red Bulls do not feel very comfortable on this type of track, with Checo Pérez (last year’s winner) in fourth position, and Max Verstappen, very complaining, in the sixth.
