\n<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton\u2019s Mercedes set the pace from McLaren\u2019s Oscar Piastri in Friday\u2019s first practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix.<\/b><\/p>\n
Hamilton, who said he was hopeful of a more competitive weekend from Mercedes, was 0.029 seconds quicker than Piastri.<\/p>\n
The second Mercedes of George Russell was third, from McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris and Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin\u2019s Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest, while Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen appeared to be struggling in 11th place and 0.815secs off the pace.<\/p>\n
Verstappen was complaining about his car being \u201cso loose over the bumps\u201d, after warning on Thursday that he expected Monaco would be \u201cone of the more difficult races\u201d. <\/p>\n
However, he did not do a run on the soft tyres which most of those in front of him did.<\/p>\n
The top five drivers were closely matched – Russell was just 0.126secs off the pace, while Leclerc in fifth was 0.228secs behind Hamilton, despite setting his fastest time on the medium tyres. <\/p>\n
But there was a 0.606secs margin to Alonso, as drivers concentrated on refamiliarising themselves with the tight Monaco street circuit and building confidence in their cars.<\/p>\n
Leclerc\u2019s pace was particularly promising for Ferrari – given the tyre offset between the medium and soft, he looked the quickest driver in the field. He was also fastest on the hard tyre earlier in the session.<\/p>\n
The session was briefly red-flagged with about 15 minutes to go to clear up some carbon-fibre debris left by Zhou Guanyu\u2019s Sauber hitting the wall at Sainte Devote.<\/p>\n
The Chinese was able to continue back to the pits having apparently escaped with just a damaged front wing.<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 Logan Sergeant also came close to a crash, hitting the inside wall at the fast Massenet left-hander approaching Casino Square. But he, too, got away with it, somehow avoiding being catapulted into the barriers on the outside.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin\u2019s Lance Stroll, the RBs of Yuki Tsunoda and Ferrari\u2019s Carlos Sainz completed the top 10, before the second practice session at 16:00 UK time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n