Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton topped an incident packed first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday.
Hamilton clocked a 1m15.537s on a set of Pirelli’s new ultra-soft tyres to edge Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by a tenth of a second.
Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari, four-tenths adrift of Hamilton’s pace-setting time.
The Red Bulls were fourth and fifth, Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Spanish GP winner Max Verstappen.
Daniil Kvyat was sixth quickest for Toro Rosso, ahead of the Force India duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.
Kimi Raikkonen ended first practice in ninth, while Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10 in the second Toro Rosso.
Felipe Massa triggered an early VSC with a crash at Ste Devote after losing the rear of his Williams.
Esteban Gutierrez prompted a second VSC when he was forced to park his Haas at Portier with a reported electrical problem.
The session was restarted, only for Jolyon Palmer to crash his Renault heavily into the barriers at the exit of Tabac.
Nico Rosberg caused a fourth and final VSC with a late kiss of the barrier at Ste Devote – the Mercedes racer forced to limp back to the pits with a puncture.
Jenson Button, who was following Rosberg on track, hit debris thrown up by the Mercedes, smashing his front-wing and suffering a front-right puncture.
Replays showed that Button hit a displaced manhole cover, prompting officials to red flag the session with just two minutes left on the clock.
Discussion about this post