 |
| Daniel Ricciardo gave improving Red Bull another boost with the fastest time in second practice |
Red Bull struggled for consistency last season but the car's pace is improving, with teammate Max Verstappen winning the Spanish GP two weeks ago.
Ricciardo was more than half a second quicker than Hamilton and .899 seconds faster than Rosberg.
TIMES AFTER SECOND PRACTICE AT THE MONACO GRAND PRIX
1 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1min 14.607secs, 2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:15.213, 3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:15.506, 4 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:15.571, 5 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.815, 6 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.981, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:16.040, 8 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:16.120, 9 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:16.269, 10 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:16.325, 11 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:16.487, 12 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:16.723, 13 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Haas F1 1:16.782, 14 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:16.849, 15 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:16.874, 16 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:17.286, 17 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Renault 1:17.530, 18 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.562, 19 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:17.761, 20 Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.999, 21 Rio Haryanto (Ina) Manor Racing 1:18.647, 22 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Manor Racing 1:18.814
In the morning's first practice, Hamilton led Rosberg and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.
But Vettel struggled in the afternoon, damaging his rear wing at the Mirabeau turn and spinning his car at Sainte Devote as he clocked the ninth fastest time.
It appeared as though Rosberg ran over a loose drain cover on the exit of Sainte Devote. Jenson Button, following the Mercedes driver, then clattered into the debris.
It led to the 2009 world champion, who posted the 15th best time, also sustaining a puncture, and the session was red flagged. Race director Charlie Whiting was immediately on the scene inspecting the area in question.
It marked the end of an incident-packed session on the streets of Monte Carlo, with Felipe Massa crashing out at turn one after he lost control of his Williams with just 35 minutes gone.
British rookie Jolyon Palmer was also in the wall on his grand prix debut at the iconic venue. 'Sorry guys,' the Renault driver said to his team over the radio.
 |
| Hamilton already trails Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 43 points in the championship |
Hamilton insisted there is no longer any tension between himself and Rosberg following their opening-lap crash at the Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
And his early marker in first practice here is just what the Briton, who has not won since October's United States Grand Prix - a streak which stretches to eight races - required as he attempts to get the fraught defence of his championship back on track.
dailymail
0 Comments