Two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso set Thursday afternoon the best time of the day in his Ferrari F10 around the twisty and narrow street circuit of Monte-Carlo in the first day of practice for the famed Grand Prix of Monaco.
As the Formula 1 world got ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the FIA F1 World Championship, Alonso pulled two very fast laps with his Ferrari fitted with soft tires.
The Spaniard stayed in first place for the rest of the day, as light rain prevented anyone making improvements in the second half of the session.
Heavy traffic was significantly more of a problem in the second session, with an altercation between Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) showing just why drivers are concerned about qualifying.
Germany’s Nico Rosberg, behind the wheel of the short-wheelbase Mercedes, set the second fastest time ahead of Sebastien Vettel of Red Bull Racing and Massa of Ferrari.
Michael Schumacher put his Mercedes in 5th place, beating the strong running Robert Kubica in the Renault and Lewis Hamilton in the first McLaren.
The Lotuses, the Virgins and the Hispanias are again the slowest of all. Bruno Senna (last in his Cosworth-powered Hispania) had a best lap in 1:22.148, 7.2 seconds down to Alonso. In comparison, Pastor Maldonado set the best time in the GP2 series’ free practice session with a time of 1:20.476.
However, Senna believes his HRT chassis is carrying an inherent problem. "There is something wrong at the back and we still have not found what it is," he said.
Monaco GP, free practice 1, Thursday morning
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F10) - 1'15"927 - 32 laps
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'16"000 - 27
3 - Robert Kubica (Renault R30) - 1'16"016 - 28
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'16"382 - 25
5 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F10) - 1'16"517 - 30
6 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W01) - 1'16"589 - 21
7 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'16"647 - 32
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'16"692 - 30
9 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'16"805 - 23
10 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR5-Ferrari) - 1'16"857 - 31
11 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W01) - 1'17"149 - 15
12 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'17"331 - 28
13 - Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'17"704 - 27
14 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R30) - 1'17"718 - 39
15 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR5-Ferrari) - 1'17"991 - 37
16 - Nico Hulkenberg (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'18"397 - 39
17 - Pedro De La Rosa (Sauber C29-Ferrari) - 1'18"434 - 38
18 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C29-Ferrari) - 1'18"547 - 32
19 - Timo Glock (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'19"527 - 24
20 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T127-Cosworth) - 1'19"606 - 32
21 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus T127-Cosworth) - 1'19"902 - 31
22 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'20"566 - 18
23 - Bruno Senna (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'21"688 - 28
24 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'21"853 - 6
Monaco GP, free practice 2, Thursday afternoon
1Fernando Alonso1:14.90436 laps
2Nico Rosberg1:15.01339
3Sebastian Vettel1:15.09947
4Felipe Massa1:15.12044
5Michael Schumacher1:15.14338
6Robert Kubica1:15.19238
7Lewis Hamilton1:15.24932
8Adrian Sutil1:15.46042
9Jenson Button1:15.61937
10Mark Webber1:15.62028
11Vitaly Petrov1:15.74644
12Sebastien Buemi1:16.27646
13Nico Hulkenberg1:16.34848
14Rubens Barrichello1:16.52237
15Tonio Liuzzi1:16.52842
16Pedro de la Rosa1:16.59936
17Kamui Kobayashi1:16.81845
18Jaime Alguersuari1:17.02328
19Heikki Kovalainen1:18.18447
20Lucas di Grassi1:18.47838
21Jarno Trulli1:18.66713
22Timo Glock1:18.72141
23Karun Chandhok1:20.31335
24Bruno Senna1:22.14811
Unofficial timing
As the Formula 1 world got ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the FIA F1 World Championship, Alonso pulled two very fast laps with his Ferrari fitted with soft tires.
The Spaniard stayed in first place for the rest of the day, as light rain prevented anyone making improvements in the second half of the session.
Heavy traffic was significantly more of a problem in the second session, with an altercation between Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) showing just why drivers are concerned about qualifying.
Germany’s Nico Rosberg, behind the wheel of the short-wheelbase Mercedes, set the second fastest time ahead of Sebastien Vettel of Red Bull Racing and Massa of Ferrari.
Michael Schumacher put his Mercedes in 5th place, beating the strong running Robert Kubica in the Renault and Lewis Hamilton in the first McLaren.
The Lotuses, the Virgins and the Hispanias are again the slowest of all. Bruno Senna (last in his Cosworth-powered Hispania) had a best lap in 1:22.148, 7.2 seconds down to Alonso. In comparison, Pastor Maldonado set the best time in the GP2 series’ free practice session with a time of 1:20.476.
However, Senna believes his HRT chassis is carrying an inherent problem. "There is something wrong at the back and we still have not found what it is," he said.
Monaco GP, free practice 1, Thursday morning
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F10) - 1'15"927 - 32 laps
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'16"000 - 27
3 - Robert Kubica (Renault R30) - 1'16"016 - 28
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB6-Renault) - 1'16"382 - 25
5 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F10) - 1'16"517 - 30
6 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W01) - 1'16"589 - 21
7 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'16"647 - 32
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/25-Mercedes) - 1'16"692 - 30
9 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'16"805 - 23
10 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR5-Ferrari) - 1'16"857 - 31
11 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W01) - 1'17"149 - 15
12 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'17"331 - 28
13 - Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India VJM03-Mercedes) - 1'17"704 - 27
14 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R30) - 1'17"718 - 39
15 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR5-Ferrari) - 1'17"991 - 37
16 - Nico Hulkenberg (Williams FW32-Cosworth) - 1'18"397 - 39
17 - Pedro De La Rosa (Sauber C29-Ferrari) - 1'18"434 - 38
18 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C29-Ferrari) - 1'18"547 - 32
19 - Timo Glock (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'19"527 - 24
20 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T127-Cosworth) - 1'19"606 - 32
21 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus T127-Cosworth) - 1'19"902 - 31
22 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin VR01-Cosworth) - 1'20"566 - 18
23 - Bruno Senna (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'21"688 - 28
24 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania F110-Cosworth) - 1'21"853 - 6
Monaco GP, free practice 2, Thursday afternoon
1Fernando Alonso1:14.90436 laps
2Nico Rosberg1:15.01339
3Sebastian Vettel1:15.09947
4Felipe Massa1:15.12044
5Michael Schumacher1:15.14338
6Robert Kubica1:15.19238
7Lewis Hamilton1:15.24932
8Adrian Sutil1:15.46042
9Jenson Button1:15.61937
10Mark Webber1:15.62028
11Vitaly Petrov1:15.74644
12Sebastien Buemi1:16.27646
13Nico Hulkenberg1:16.34848
14Rubens Barrichello1:16.52237
15Tonio Liuzzi1:16.52842
16Pedro de la Rosa1:16.59936
17Kamui Kobayashi1:16.81845
18Jaime Alguersuari1:17.02328
19Heikki Kovalainen1:18.18447
20Lucas di Grassi1:18.47838
21Jarno Trulli1:18.66713
22Timo Glock1:18.72141
23Karun Chandhok1:20.31335
24Bruno Senna1:22.14811
Unofficial timing