The clock is ticking down but the sun is still glorious in Monaco. Alex Albon shifts his Williams to fourth - he's now heading back out on track to do some hard-tyre running.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, goes above Lando Norris and into second on the timesheets with a 1:12.127 behind leader Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari is in flight! The seven-time world champion finds more traffic woes, this time at the Swimming Pool complex, which leads him to whack the kerb at Turn 15 and lifts off the ground. The Briton then comes on the team radio to let out his frustrations.

Two drivers in the top five, no less. Spaniard Carlos Sainz is the quickest of the pair in fourth, with Alex Albon only a fraction away from his team-mate's marker.

Behind Williams, Red Bull's Max Verstappen lies sixth following his latest attempt on the soft tyre - same compound as Sainz and Albon.

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton is blasting on a hot lap in his Ferrari but cars are moving slowly around him at Massenet - and it's a close call for the seven-time world champion. The 40-year-old flags to his pit wall other drivers need to be more careful.

As for Charles Leclerc, he says his front left is gone. "I think something is wrong with the car," he adds.

Oscar Piastri is leading the championship by 13 points after seven races - the Australian taking control of the title battle after his Saudi Arabia victory during the first triple header. He claimed pole last weekend at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, so what are his chances this weekend at another circuit where Saturday performance is all-important?

For now, he's a medium compound runner like his McLaren buddy Lando Norris and move to third on the timesheets, 0.378 seconds off the pace of Charles Leclerc, who set his top marker on the C6 soft.

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

Not only is Monaco absolutely merciless in punishing mistakes, if you don't properly commit here and shave the barriers, and really risk everything, you're nowhere.

Carlos Sainz put points on the board in Imola and now the Spaniard is third on the timesheets in Monaco. Soft tyres for the Williams man and a time of 1:12.688.

Over at Racing Bulls, rookie Isack Hadjar tells his pit wall he needs to box after what he calls a "heavy" hit at the Swimming Pool section.

The sun has been shinning in Monte Carlo and the harbour is packed with super, mega and gargantuan yachts. Harry Benjamin is in the Principality and has given us a rundown of the five things to look out for in Monaco this weekend.

Well, 'nowhere' suddenly turns into P1 in the timesheets. Charles Leclerc is leading the field after his latest lap on the softs with a 1:11.964.

Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton is third, while Lando Norris, now on the mediums, is 0.326 seconds behind Leclerc in second.

Charles Leclerc enters the Tunnel and has a message for his Ferrari pit wall: the car is nowhere. Understeer at one corner, oversteer at another. The home driver doesn't sound confident at the moment he can repeat his heroics of last season.

Lance Stroll's running in first practice has come to an end. The contact with Charles Leclerc has curtailed his hour and now Aston Martin are busy bees trying to get the Canadian ready for FP2 this afternoon.

Meanwhile, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, like a few drivers so far, drops a naughty word on the Red Bull team radio as slower cars impede his path.

Image source, PA Media

Pierre Gasly finds traffic towards the end of the demanding Monaco lap and the Alpine man is annoyed, telling his pit wall these newbies need to wake up when it comes to the mean streets of Monte Carlo.

The top three is all new, as Lando Norris goes quickest on the new C6 compound with a 1:12.290, Lewis Hamilton gains a few more places and now sits second - he's a medium runner - and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, on the softs, goes third.

The trio of tyres are being put to the test in this first practice session. What type of strategies will we see on Sunday? That's the million-dollar question. Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner here in Monaco, improves on his latest lap on the mediums and moves up to P4, 0.379 seconds behind Oscar Piastri's fastest C6 soft time.

Image source, Getty Images

Oscar Piastri is on his soft tyres and goes quickest with a 1:13.031.

The grandstands are packed with fans watching the drivers push the limits on this iconic track. This is the first time Lewis Hamilton is driving a Ferrari around Monte Carlo and while he locks up slightly on his medium run, he's sitting sixth on the board currently.

However, Liam Lawson isn't happy to see Hamilton in red. "I nearly hit Hamilton," says the Racing Bulls driver. "He braked right before the last corner." His engineer then replies: "Usual Hamilton stuff."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

The mandatory two pit stops this weekend might not change much, but it might change everything. It kind of depends on how the race unfolds. Some people at the back might take a gamble. For example, you could do your two pit stops on the first two laps, stick on the hard tyres and go to the end of the race and hope as the race unfolds, safety cars happen and you move up. It adds an extra sense of uncertainty to the race.

The C6 soft is the compound of choice over at McLaren and Lando Norris leads team-mate Oscar Piastri by 0.206 seconds. Fernando Alonso is also a red-banded tyre runner and the Spaniard, after a difficult Imola showing, is third on the timesheets behind the papaya boys.

Image source, PA Media

The photographers got a great view of the moment Charles Leclerc ran into Lance Stroll as the Aston Martin driver moved across the track.

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button is on Sky Sports this weekend and says sometimes it can be hard to hear radio messages when you're in the cockpit in Monaco. Aston Martin are now working hard to patch up the Canadian's car.

The rest of the field, including Charles Leclerc, are back in play and Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are leading the timesheets.

Postpublished at 12:43 British Summer Time 23 May

12:43 BST 23 May

First red flag of the weekend - and it wasn't one of the rookies that was responsible. The session is paused while the track is cleared, giving Ferrari an opportunity to perform some nose surgery on Charles Leclerc's car.