Practice
1: Alonso puts Lewis in the shade
Double world champion Fernando Alonso fired a timely reminder to
his rookie stable-mate Lewis Hamilton in the first free practice
session for the Monaco Grand Prix.
As the hype grows around the British sensation's chances on his
first Formula 1 visit to Monte Carlo, the McLaren pair delivered
the fastest times of the 90 minute session, but significantly it
was the Spaniard who commanded a 0.6s advantage as the flag
fell.
Alonso's lap of 1m16.973s around the Monaco set him apart from the
rest as the champion completed a whopping 31 laps in total - more
than any other driver as worked through his soft tyre
programme.
Hamilton, by contrast, came out of the blocks fast and engaged in
an early battle for supremacy with Felipe Massa's Ferrari.
The 21-year-old ended the scrap with a 1m17.601s lap, which was
good enough for second, but not long after headed into the pits
where he remained for half the session, having done all the hard
tyre work he needed to.
His response to Alonso's target will likely come this
afternoon.
Nick Heidfeld, a potential dark horse this weekend, was third
quickest in the nimble BMW, while Giancarlo Fisichella was a
much-improved fourth.
The Italian's pace on a track he normally shines on will have given
the under-par Renault team some cheer, lthough the left-front he
severely damaged in a late incident with the barrier at St Devote
probably didn't.
Another to clout the wall at the first corner was Mark Webber,
whose Red Bull's left-rear swiped the barrier hard on the
exit.
The Aussie, who was an impressive sixth fastest, made it as far as
the Nouvelle Chicane before pulling off the track just after the
chequered flag was waved.
Slipping in between the two crashers in fifth was Kimi Raikkonen in
the first of the Ferraris.
The Italian team had a quiet first session with Massa ending up
eighth behind Williams's Nico Rosberg, as the young German made yet
another fine impression.
Robert Kubica was ninth in the second of the BMWs while Rubens
Barrichello broke into the top ten for Honda.
Other points of note during the session were Scott Speed's best
lap, which put the American in eighth before he eventually dropped
to 12th, and Christijan Albers, who brought out the red flags for
five minutes when he stopped his Spyker between the chicane and
Tabac.
Monaco Grand Prix, Free practice session one
1. ALONSO Mclaren 1m16.973s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m17.601s
3. HEIDFELD BMW 1m17.616s
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1m17.758s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m17.918s
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1m17.956s
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m18.074s
8. MASSA Ferrari 1m18.189s
9. KUBICA BMW 1m18.675s
10. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m18.676s
11. WURZ Williams 1m18.869s
12. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m18.967s
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m19.095s
14. SATO Super Aguri 1m19.203s
15. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m19.285s
16. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m19.321s
17. BUTTON Honda 1m19.332s
18. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m19.337s
19. TRULLI Toyota 1m19.496s
20. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m19.799s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m21.634s
22. ALBERS Spyker 1m23.235s
