Monaco-EL1: Hamilton takes the lead

At the end of a first driving session marked by several interventions by the safety car, Lewis Hamilton was the fastest behind the wheel of his Mercedes W07 Hybrid. The three-time world champion dominated this hour and a half thanks to a best lap completed in 1'15 "537, and precedes his teammate Nico Rosberg by 101 thousandths.

The German driver unintentionally caused the session to end prematurely, a manhole cover having come off following the passage of W07 Hybrid n°6, a part struck in the process by the McLaren by Jenson Button. Both drivers suffered a puncture, and the marshals ultimately displayed a red flag to end the session.

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) concludes these EL1s in third position, more than four tenths ahead of the Red Bull de Daniel Ricciardo et Max Verstappen. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) climbs to sixth place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Pérez (Force India), Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Carlos Sainz completing the top 10.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) finished 12th behind first Williams de Valtteri Bottas, which caused a lot of heat in the tunnel of the Monaco route. Less success for Felipe Massa, who hit the safety rail at the Sainte-Dévote bend, damaging the left side of his FW38, with two wheels torn off. Jolyon Palmer (Renault) also made a mistake at the Tabac bend. These two incidents caused the deployment of the virtual safety car.

Several drivers shot straight at Sainte-Dévote, including Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Nasr (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton. Note that Esteban Gutiérrez (Haas) was forced to dismount following an electrical problem.

The second free practice session will start at 14 p.m.

Results EL1 Monaco