EL1: Hamilton breaks lap record in Monaco

At the end of a first test session for the Monaco GP where ultra-soft tires were favored, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) signed the best time with a lap completed in 1'13''425, beating by a tenth the old record achieved by Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

The three-time world champion was ahead of Sebastian Vettel by almost 2 tenths (Ferrari) while Max Verstappen (Red Bull) completed the top three at 3 tenths just ahead Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) completed the top five being last less than half a second from the benchmark.

The Toro Rosso were the only ones to set their benchmark times with super soft tires. Daniil Kvyat finished in 6th place while his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr is in 9th position behind Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Sergio Pérez (Force India). Esteban Ocon (Force India) completed the top ten.

Felipe Massa (Williams) ranked 11th ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas). Jenson Button (McLaren) marks his return by taking 14th place while racing for the first time on the MCL32 of Fernando Alonso who is competing in the Indy 500 this weekend.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) ranked 15th ahead Lance stroll (Williams), Jolyon Palmer (Renault) and Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber). Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) were unable to set a time due to mechanical problems.

The second practice session for the Monaco GP will be contested this afternoon from 14 p.m. and will be followed live on Canal+ Sport.