Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes topped the first practice session for the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, while champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was only 11th.
The struggling Mercedes team will have reasons to smile after Hamilton clocked the fastest time of 1 minute 12.169 seconds and George Russell in their second car was third.
The McLaren of Oscar Piastri split the two Mercedes, only 0.029s behind Hamilton.
Verstappen, meanwhile, was 11th as it seemed like Red Bull were working on set-up and longer runs. But the Dutchman got too close to the barriers several times, which could have cause some damage to his car.
There was a red flag during the session after Zhou Guanyu clipped the outside wall coming out of Sainte Devote and lost part of his front wing.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari picked up some of the debris and had a bit of damage in his car floor. He was able to complete the session for his home race and finished fifth behind the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Verstappen tops the drivers' championship 48 points ahead of Leclerc. Second practice is later on Friday, with third practice and qualifying on Saturday ahead of Sunday's show down.
The qualifying session in Monaco is one of the most important of the season. In the narrow street circuit, where overtaking is very difficult, a first place in qualifying usually also means a first place in the race.
