Monaco – Free Practice 1: Hamilton and Mercedes on the Attack in the Principality

The session starts under a gray sky and the drivers head out for their installation lap. After about twelve minutes, the first driver to set a time is Nico Rosberg on soft tires, with a 1:24.681. The German improves by 2.1 seconds on his second lap and eventually posts a 1:20.094. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton also set off and almost loses his Mercedes under braking, slightly hindered by Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso at the tunnel exit.

Most of the drivers are on track after 25 minutes; Hamilton is also closing in two-tenths behind his teammate. However, Daniel Ricciardo puts his Red Bull at the top, with a time of 1:19.912. Max Chilton (Marussia) is spun around in Mirabeau, which results in a double yellow flag until the British driver can reach the escape road.

After 30 minutes, Ricciardo leads Rosberg (+0.182), Alonso (+0.211), Hamilton (+0.410), and Pérez (+0.799). The other drivers are at least a second behind the Red Bull. Rosberg returns to the top a few minutes later, clocking in at 1:18.970; Hamilton, in a more aggressive style, falls just 3 thousandths short. The two men truly have different styles. At Lotus, Romain Grosjean is warned that the Mercedes take three laps to get their tires up to temperature.

Finally, after 45 minutes, Hamilton ranks at the top of the timesheet with a 1:18.271, two-tenths ahead of Rosberg. A few moments later, Valtteri Bottas (Williams) has a slight scare while braking before the Rascasse but manages to steer.

Half an hour before the end of the session, Hamilton leads ahead of Rosberg (+0.206), Ricciardo (+0.235), Alonso (+0.907), and Vettel (+0.983). But Vettel improves and passes Alonso, coming within eight tenths of Hamilton and six tenths of his teammate. Fifteen minutes before the end of the session, Adrian Sutil hit the wall at Mirabeau; he lost control of his car under braking, and the rear hit, damaging the left rear tire and part of the wing. His car is quickly evacuated, as usual in the Principality, and by air.

Five minutes before the end of the session, Alonso positions himself between the two Red Bulls, two-tenths ahead of Vettel and four-tenths behind Ricciardo. Magnussen is significantly hindered by Pérez at the Rascasse, in the last corner. The drivers are pushing hard, as evidenced by Alonso’s struggles to take the harbor chicane and Mirabeau, and Esteban Gutierrez’s straight-on at San Devote.

The session ends with the fastest time from Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo.