Joint-championship leader Fernando Alonso put his Ferrari fastest at Monaco’s opening practice session, edging out Romain Grosjean’s Lotus by just under four-tenths of a second.
The top 5 places were covered by 5 constructors, continuing the competitive trend of 2012. Sergio Perez impressed on his return to the same streets of his accident 12 months ago, finishing 3rd, Lewis Hamilton ended up 4th, with Spanish GP winner Pastor Maldonado a further one-thousandth behind.
The competitive nature of this season wasn’t just seen in the number of constructors – the top 10 cars were covered by less than one second!
The on-track action ended prematurely after Heikki Kovalainen’s Renault engine blew in the tunnel, bringing the red flag out with 5 minutes of the session remaining.
Monaco Grand Prix – First Practice
1. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari – 1m16.265s
2. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault +0.365
3. Sergio Perez, Sauber-Ferrari +0.446
4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes +0.482
5. Pastor Maldonado, Williams-Renault +0.495
6. Felipe Massa, Ferrari +0.578
7. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari +0.773
8. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes +0.925
9. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault +0.957
10. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes +0.996
11. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes +1.148
12. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes +1.366
13. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault +1.841
14. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1.944
15. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1.987
16. Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes +2.037
17. Bruno Senna, Williams-Renault +2.352
18. Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham-Renault +2.774
19. Vitaly Petrov, Caterham-Renault +3.076
20. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT-Cosworth +4.573
21. Charles Pic, Marussia-Cosworth +4.630
22. Timo Glock, Marussia-Cosworth +5.373
23. Pedro de la Rosa, HRT-Cosworth +6.158
24. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault (no time)
