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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Kieran Jackson

F1 Monaco GP LIVE: Qualifying start time and schedule with Lewis Hamilton fastest in practice

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finished quickest in second practice - (PA Wire)

F1 MONACO GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES

  • Round six of the 2026 F1 season takes place in Monaco | Live on Sky Sports
  • Qualifying starts at 3pm (BST) on Saturday
  • Lewis Hamilton quickest in FP2; Leclerc 2nd; Verstappen 3rd
  • CRASH! Isack Hadjar hits the wall in practice
  • PREVIEW: Why Charles Leclerc has bet big on Ferrari with new deal

Start times in Monaco this weekend:

17:56 , Kieran Jackson

All times BST

Saturday 6 June

  • Free practice 3: 11:30am
  • Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 7 June

  • Race: 2pm
Lewis Hamilton (PA Wire)
Lewis Hamilton (PA Wire)

Leclerc on racing in Monaco:

22:00 , Kieran Jackson

"Monaco is actually going to be one of those races where these cars might be very good. First, we have now lighter cars, which is, I think, a good thing and we can definitely feel that. And for a track like Monaco, I think this has its benefits.

"And I think the electric side is going to be a lot less big in Monaco, just because we'll be recharging quite a bit with all the corners that there are. So I'm quite excited for Monaco."

Lewis Hamilton on his weekend ahead:

20:00 , Kieran Jackson

"This track would probably bode better for us than some of the others. The long straights, we lost quite a lot of time, so obviously here we would lose a lot less and I don't think power is going to be necessarily so much of an issue.

“And our car is good in low speeds so I think we'll be competitive.

"I don't think we'll necessarily be the quickest, especially because after the Mercedes upgrade at the last track they were quite quick through the low speeds. But I think we'll be competitive."

 (Reuters)
(Reuters)

Kimi Antonelli on his 43-point lead:

19:00 , Kieran Jackson

"I don't feel that much pressure. I feel pretty relaxed. I just keep doing what I'm doing, trying to raise the bar.

"George is a super-strong team-mate and he will make my life difficult."

 (Reuters)
(Reuters)

Lando Norris on Thursday on Ferrari's potential pace:

18:30 , Kieran Jackson

"It's true that the Ferraris are not the quickest on the straights, but that's also because they have a lot of downforce and a lot of drag.

"So it's kind of their own punishment they give themselves, which gives them some advantage. That advantage will definitely show this weekend."

 (PA)
(PA)

George Russell after Friday practice:

17:35 , Kieran Jackson

“We expected Ferrari to be the guys to beat and clearly they are, Red Bull have also been a surprise.

“We knew this would be our most challenging. I don’t think we nailed it today - definitely Ferrari are the team.

“The trends that we see with Ferrari here every year and street tracks... been there for 10 years. Every car has an inherent DNA, and theirs works on street tracks.”

Top-10 in FP2

17:15 , Kieran Jackson

1) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:13.026

2) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.111

3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.168

4) George Russell (Mercedes) +0.379

5) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.503

6) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +1.061

7) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.062

8) Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.068

9) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1.333

10) Oliver Bearman (Haas) +1.430

Lewis Hamilton quickest in FP2

17:06 , Kieran Jackson

That’ll be that then for the session! Another statement and one-two from Ferrari.

This time, it’s Hamilton ahead of Leclerc by 0.111, with Verstappen in third - 0.168 secs off the pace.

4-10: Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Bearman

 (AP)
(AP)

Sergio Perez's car catches fire

16:56 , Kieran Jackson

Issue for the Cadillac driver!

His front brakes are on fire - he stops his car by Casino Square and quickly disembarks the cockpit.

Fire extinguisher used, all fine.

Lewis Hamilton now P1

16:49 , Kieran Jackson

Oohh it’s close at the top now!

Hamilton is P1, 0.111 secs ahead of Charles Leclerc and 0.168 secs ahead of Max Verstappen.

Russell and Antonelli are fourth and fifth, respectively - three-tenths and five-tenths off.

I think that pecking order is about right so far today, perhaps with Leclerc and Hamilton swapping.

15 mins left in FP2.

Max Verstappen goes P1

16:35 , Kieran Jackson

The Dutchman is a threat around Monaco - who can forget his sensational pole-setting lap in 2023 - and he goes to the top, halfway through FP2.

George Russell is just .048 secs off in second, with Lewis Hamilton now in third.

4-10: Leclerc, Antonelli, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Bearman, Piastri, Bortoleto

 (Getty)
(Getty)

Antonelli fluffs his lines

16:30 , Kieran Jackson

The championship leader overdrives in sector two - and has to abandon his push lap.

Not the pace-setter at this early stage of the weekend, yet...

Leclerc top once again

16:24 , Kieran Jackson

The Monegasque continue to be the man to beat - he’s top of the leaderboard after 20 minutes, once again ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton in second.

Max Verstappen the closest to the Ferrari pair in third.

20 minutes gone in FP2.

Lando Norris has an issue

16:18 , Kieran Jackson

Norris looks to be out of the session!

The McLaren loses all power and we have a VSC after 15 mins in Monaco...

FP2 underway

16:03 , Kieran Jackson

The second hour of practice is a go in Monaco!

VIDEO: Hadjar's crash

13:50 , Kieran Jackson

Top-10 in FP1

13:40 , Kieran Jackson

1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:13.978

2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.226

3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.513

4) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.559

5) George Russell (Mercedes) +1.005

6) Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.313

7) Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.365

8) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.587

9) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1.772

10) Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.850

Leclerc quickest in FP1

13:32 , Kieran Jackson

A lot of cars have headed out at the end of the session, but that’ll just be for practice starts on the grid.

All smiles down at Ferrari with Leclerc fastest, a few tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton in second - a Ferrari one-two.

3-10: Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Norris, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Bortoleto, Gasly

Work for Mercedes to do, then...

 (Reuters)
(Reuters)

RED FLAG

13:27 , Kieran Jackson

Fernando Alonso has tipped the wall and with debris on track, they’ve red-flagged it!

The Aston Martin skid into the wall but, fortunately, he hobbled back to the pits.

That will probably be the end of the session...

Green flag

13:18 , Kieran Jackson

With 15 minutes remaining, we’re back underway with Hadjar’s crash and debris cleared from the track.

It’ll be a busy circuit to end, me thinks...

Isack Hadjar's crash

13:08 , Kieran Jackson

Pleased to say Hadjar is OK and out of the car.

Replays show that he actually just slid off track and had no control at all.

Hadjar: “I don’t understand why it snapped off like that, I’m sorry.”

This will be some clean-up job...

Isack Hadjar crashes

13:06 , Kieran Jackson

Hadjar has smashed his Red Bull into the wall on the exit of the swimming pool chicane!

That’s a big one!

RED FLAG.

 (Getty)
(Getty)

Virtual safety car

13:01 , Kieran Jackson

A brief pause out on track - unsure why - but it’s brief.

It’s now a Ferrari one-two, with Charles Leclerc 0.182 secs ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second.

Getting excited, Ferrari fans?!

Leclerc quickest now

12:54 , Kieran Jackson

The hometown hero is the first man into the 1:14s and is now P1 - half a second ahead of Kimi Antonelli, now in second.

3-10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Hadjar, Gasly, Lawson

 (PA)
(PA)

Ocon and Bearman boil over

12:49 , Kieran Jackson

The Haas teammates are not happy with one another!

Ocon closes in on Bearman around the swimming pool section, and the Frenchman has to brake heavily.

Bearman: “What an idiot, man! That was so stupid from Esteban...”

Might be a bit heated in the garage later on...

Hamilton quickest early on

12:44 , Kieran Jackson

The Ferrari driver tops the charts early on, two-tenths clear of Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in third.

The Mercedes boys? Not yet in contention...

FP1 underway

12:30 , Kieran Jackson

The green light is on at the end of the pit-lane and we are underway with practice in Monaco!

 (Getty)
(Getty)

Practice in Monaco

12:25 , Kieran Jackson

Given the importance of qualifying around Monte-Carlo, is there anywhere on the calendar where practice matters more?

Three sessions for the drivers to get their eye in with the sensational backdrop of the Riviera.

There’s a lot of talk that Ferrari could be able to match Mercedes’ leading pace this weekend - this first practice session will give us our first inklings.

Leclerc reveals he had other offers on table before penning Ferrari deal

12:20 , Kieran Jackson

"There were, yes," he said of rival bids. "I’m not going to say who — they can say it if they want. For me, Ferrari was always the choice."

He added that assurances about Ferrari's future competitiveness were "part of all the discussions."

Leclerc elaborated on his loyalty, stating: "But winning in red for me has got a very unique feeling, and something that I’ve dedicated all the years. We didn’t manage to achieve that yet, at least in a full season."

 (Getty)
(Getty)

Sergio Perez believes Monaco Grand Prix provides opportunity for Cadillac

12:09 , Kieran Jackson

After five rounds, Cadillac has yet to qualify higher than 18th in a regular grand prix, with their best result a 13th-place finish, but Perez, a past winner in Monaco, sees potential in the slowest race on the calendar.

"It can be one of our biggest shots so far," Perez, who triumphed in Monaco with Red Bull in 2022 and secured a third-place finish with Force India in 2016, told Reuters.

"But we have to see where we are in the low speeds. I think if we are able to be competitive in the low speed, Monaco can be a track that can bring us something."

 (Getty)
(Getty)

NEW: F1 extends deal with Las Vegas to 2037

11:46 , Kieran Jackson

Stefano Domenicali, the F1 president and chief executive officer, said: "We are thrilled that Formula 1 will continue racing in Las Vegas for many years to come.

"We always believed that Las Vegas would become a cornerstone of our presence in the United States, and this extension, together with the success of recent years, reinforces our long-term commitment to this important market."

 (Getty)
(Getty)

What are the start times in Monaco?

11:18 , Kieran Jackson

Friday 5 June

  • Free practice 1: 12:30pm
  • Free practice 2: 4pm

Saturday 6 June

  • Free practice 3: 11:30am
  • Qualifying: 3pm

Sunday 7 June

  • Race: 2pm

F1 Monaco Grand Prix

11:15 , Kieran Jackson

Formula 1 heads to the famous Monte-Carlo street circuit next for the Monaco Grand Prix and round six of the 2026 season.

Kimi Antonelli claimed his fourth consecutive victory last time out in Canada, after a thrilling intra-team battle with George Russell ended after the Briton suffered a mechanical failure. It means the 19-year-old Italian has an impressive 43-point lead over his Mercedes teammate.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, impressed in Montreal with his best-ever finish in Ferrari red as he came home in second, while Max Verstappen earned Red Bull’s first podium of the season as he came home in third.

It was a tougher day for McLaren after various car failures and penalties. Reigning world champion Lando Norris will be buoyed, however, as he returns to the scene of one of his greatest wins last year. Charles Leclerc, the hometown hero, was also a past winner in Monte-Carlo in 2024 and will be buoyed by a new contract with Ferrari, signed and sealed this week.

George Russell (PA)
George Russell (PA)
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