Formula One: Liam Lawson twice clips wall as Isack Hadjar crashes in Monaco practice

Saturday, 6 June 2026

Liam Lawson finished 19th and 16th in Monaco practice sessions, twice clipping the wall after turn 16 and apologising to his Racing Bulls team.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crashed head-on into barriers between turns 15 and 16 in the first practice session.

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in practice for Ferrari on the latest stop of the Formula One season.

Liam Lawson twice bumping a wall was overshadowed by former team-mate Isack Hadjar smashing head-on into barriers after misjudging one of Monaco’s notorious tight turns.

The first practice session on Saturday (NZ time) was briefly halted when Red Bull’s Hadjar ploughed into the barriers between turns 15 and 16 on the latest stop of the Formula One season.

The Frenchman was uninjured despite the heavy impact that damaged his front wing and dislodged a wheel. Red Bull quickly repaired the car for Hadjar to record the sixth fastest time in the second practice season, 1.061sec shy of the quickest set by Lewis Hamilton for Ferrari.

As for Lawson, he was 19th then 16th for Racing Bulls. His second time improved to trail Hamilton by 1.759sec.

The Kiwi driver clipped the wall after turn 16 in each session and apologised to his team.

“I messed up bro, I’m sorry,” he said.

The third practice session was scheduled to start at 2am on Sunday (NZ time) before qualifying overnight which is more crucial in Monaco.

Passing on the famously tight streets of Monte Carlo is more than difficult than any track on the circuit and positioning on the grid is key.

Russell says Antonelli has F1 title 'to lose.' Ferrari might beat both

It's Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 title “to lose” or so his Mercedes team-mate George Russell says. At the Monaco Grand Prix this week, for once they might both lose.

The 19-year-old Antonelli has won four races in a row for a vast 43-point lead and, between him and Russell, Mercedes has won every grand prix this year.

Ferrari went fastest in both practice sessions on Friday (local time) as hometown hero Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Hamilton showed they could be the ones to end the Mercedes streak.

The Canadian Grand Prix spiced up the title race as Russell and Antonelli battled wheel to wheel for lap after lap, only for an engine failure on Russell's car to spoil the show.

“You’ve got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it or you can lose it. And I think it’s his to lose,' Russell said on Thursday. “So, my mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race. I just need to continue being the guy who’s coming out on top, even if he’s the one at the moment who’s getting the results.”

Mercedes has had the car to beat all year but it might be Ferrari in front in Monaco. Leclerc's and Hamilton's cars have a smaller turbocharger which might give them a quicker kick of power out of the many slow corners.

“If there’s one track I would bet on us, it’s probably Monaco,” said Leclerc, who's fresh off signing a new contract at Ferrari.

Ferrari leads practice

Leclerc backed up that talk in Friday's first practice session (local time), going fastest by 0.226 of a second ahead of team-mate Hamilton. Max Verstappen was third fastest, 0.513sec off the pace, bumping Antonelli and Russell down to fourth and fifth.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Hadjar crashed into the barriers to cause a brief stoppage.

Hamilton led the way in the second session, beating Leclerc by 0.111sec, with Verstappen third fastest, Russell fourth and Antonelli fifth.

It was a day to forget for McLaren ahead of its 1,000th race in F1 as Lando Norris stopped on track in the second practice after losing power. He and Oscar Piastri struggled to match the pace of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

— Stuff, with AP