A torrent of rain and hail left many excited at the prospect of the drivers
negotiating their way around these famous streets in greasy, treacherous
conditions. For 45 minutes at least, it was not to be. It took half of the
session before Danil Kvyat, in his first race weekend in any formula at
Monaco, set a time.
With the teams eager to avoid any expensive repairs, the lull will reignite
the debate around whether running should be compulsory in practice. For many
in the paddock, it was a case of the risk being greater than the potential
reward, but this is where the rule makers should step in.
On a drying track, the times started to tumble. Eight minutes from the
chequered flag, however, 13 rivers had still not posted a time, including
both Mercedes. Hamilton eventually emerged to end up second, but given more
laps he would surely have displaced his former team-mate at the top of the
timesheets.
After receiving the public backing of his team, Alonso ended the afternoon
fastest, with a 1min18.4s lap. In his 100th race weekend with Red Bull,
Sebastian Vettel was third, with Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso fourth.
Jenson Button was eighth.