Monaco Takes No Prisoners and Alonso Knows It

Charles Leclerc brought the first joy of the weekend to his neighbours and friends in Monaco by setting the fastest time on Friday. The Ferrari driver, who knows what it is to win here—having finally achieved it last year—demonstrated that they still have much to say on an opening day of work where Fernando Alonso shone under the watchful eye of Adrian Newey. And it wasn't an easy Friday.

Incidents were not lacking, as is often the case on a circuit like Monaco where yachts are moored and cruise ships bear the names of Formula 1 teams. The enormous size of these cars poses a serious challenge for the drivers, who have even less room for error. Moreover, with their own mistakes, red flags were bound to appear.

The first red flag on Friday was caused by the notorious Lance Stroll. If he already struggles not to embarrass himself when he has room for error, it's even more so in Monaco, where his poor management had a victim: Charles Leclerc. The incident occurred in the morning practice, at the beginning, when the Canadian decided to ignore the mirrors—his trademark—at the entrance to the legendary Loews corner and overlook the fact that an impotent Charles Leclerc was coming from behind, crashing into him. With a broken front wing, the local idol went to the pits to change the wing, and that was the end of it, although the Aston Martin driver received a one-position grid penalty for Sunday.

The other two red flags of the day fell during the second practice. First, it was Isaac Hadjar who lost a wheel from his Racing Bulls—formerly Toro Rosso—and the marshals, in an excess of caution, decided to neutralise the session. It wasn't the only incident for the Frenchman, who later gave a strong push to another wall and ended up returning to the pits with the car skewed and the steering broken.

The third and ultimately last red flag of this session was indeed more significant. Not so much for the consequences, which were merely a fallen wing and a nose to be riveted, but for the protagonist. Oscar Piastri, leader of the World Championship standings, did not know or could not correct when he went straight into the wall. More embarrassed than worried, the McLaren number 1 received a wake-up call with this crash: he cannot afford to fail on Saturday or Sunday.

Friday in Monaco, which was once dedicated to the Virgin and had no track action, left Leclerc first and Hamilton third, which would invite optimism around Ferrari if it weren't for the suspiciously poor performance of the Red Bulls. Not much is expected from Yuki Tsunoda, but Max Verstappen, who had a minor off-track excursion without major consequences, is. The four-time world champion hasn't had much luck in recent outings at the Principality, but no one should rule him out at this stage. Especially when he's in a position to scare the McLarens on a so-called 'driver's circuit'.

Precisely for this reason, seeing Fernando Alonso in the upper zone gives a certain hope. The Asturian managed to lead the timesheets with an Aston Martin, and not precisely in the early stages, but when everyone was already looking for a good time to mark territory. The innovations debuted in Imola and now present in Monte Carlo seem to continue working, and despite the idiosyncrasies of this legendary circuit, the satisfaction on everyone's faces is notable.

One of them is the most illustrious guest of the weekend: Adrian Newey. With a huge folder—he must have a lot to note—and a brand-new pen, the old Da Vinci is taking notes on what he can take advantage of from this AMR25 for the big project he's working on, which is next year's car. Although Alonso ended up dropping to 7th place of the day, a more normal position, the feeling is that he only needs a stroke of luck this Saturday to do something great in the race. No one should expect a victory, but finally scoring his first points is more than feasible.