2014 Monaco Grand Prix Thursday - Practice
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Lotus has fired up Grosjean's car, but the Frenchman is just watching from the garage.
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"Looks very slippery out there Valtteri, any comments?" asks Williams.
"Yes, it was very slippery," Bottas replies. Possibly with a touch of irony.
"Yes, it was very slippery," Bottas replies. Possibly with a touch of irony.
No rush from anyone else to jump onto the track. No engine sounds to be heard at the moment and most drivers are out of their cars.
A TV camera tour of what drivers are up to reveals Vettel chatting to Helmut Marko, Perez hanging out on a pit building balcony, and Ericsson seemingly texting the engineer stood next to him.
BEN ANDERSON: Wheelspin all the way for Bottas on his first run through the Swimming Pool section. The gears can't come quickly enough!
And that's the end of the on-track action for now, as Bottas is back in the pitlane.
EDD STRAW: "Good to see Bottas heading out. He's a fantastic wet-weather driver. He's out on the intermediate Pirellis."
Valtteri Bottas is the first man to leave the pitlane in the Williams. His car sporting intermediates.
Fernando Alonso - F1's 200 per cent race monster best driver (if we combine the avalanche of praise he's received from other people's bosses and his own of late) - is still wearing an anorak, while in the Lotus pit there's no urgency to get any tyres on the cars, and this time that's not because they're broken.
EDD STRAW: "No great surprise to see nobody rushing to go out onto the wet track in the first few minutes. Definitely worth the less experienced Monaco drivers having a look at the track in these conditions. Daniil Kvyat is the only Monaco rookie here though."
No one willing to dry up the track for their rivals, clearly.
Green flag
The green lights are on, and the session is underway. But no sign of any cars leaving the pits yet.
Rain
Forecasts are suggesting a reasonably high chance of further rainfall to come in the next 90 minutes as well.
Several drivers still walking around, suggesting the start of the session may be slow due to the tricky track conditions.
BEN ANDERSON: "About to head trackside for this session. A bit of wet running should make for some lively viewing around this track!"
GP2 squeezed its session in before the rain came down. Jolyon Palmer was quickest and among the F1 proteges it was a case of Williams (Felipe Nasr) ahead of Caterham (Alexander Rossi), Force India (top Hilmer man Daniel Abt) McLaren (Stoffel Vandoorne) and Ferrari (Raffaele Marciello) in eighth, 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th places.
Monaco GP2 practice report
Monaco GP2 practice report
The good news for track action is that the rain has stopped. Still lots of cloud around, but track conditions should allow drivers to get out there
AUTOSPORT magazine
The main theme of AUTOSPORT's print edition this week is paying tribute to three-time F1 champion Sir Jack Brabham, who died on Monday.
Monaco was the scene of some pivotal moments in Brabham's career. He took his first F1 front row here in 1958, and first win here in 1959 (and maiden podium and fastest lap in the process too).
That would be his only Monte Carlo victory - 1970 was famously 'the one that got away', when he made a mistake at the very last corner and let Jochen Rindt through, but he did take pole in 1967, the 10th qualifying top spot of his career.
Earlier on we were admiring Marcus Ericsson's retro Ronnie Peterson helmet.
In other 'current F1 stars showing admirable respect for motorsport's heritage news', we've been hearing about Marussia racer Max Chilton's plan to contest the Goodwood Revival in a 1965 Ford Mustang.
Sauber test driver Giedo van der Garde is heading to Sussex for the September event too - he'll be racing an AC Cobra.
There's more news about the line-ups for both the Goodwood Revival and the Festival of Speed in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.
In other 'current F1 stars showing admirable respect for motorsport's heritage news', we've been hearing about Marussia racer Max Chilton's plan to contest the Goodwood Revival in a 1965 Ford Mustang.
Sauber test driver Giedo van der Garde is heading to Sussex for the September event too - he'll be racing an AC Cobra.
There's more news about the line-ups for both the Goodwood Revival and the Festival of Speed in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.
Wet races dramatically increase the amount of overtaking in Monaco too, incidentally.
There were 21 on-track passes in the wet 2008 race compared to four in both 2009 and '10.
DRS (and perhaps the presence of pass-able cars from the 2010 team intake) has made a difference in Monaco as well, though. We had 16 overtaking moves in both 2011 and '13.
There were 21 on-track passes in the wet 2008 race compared to four in both 2009 and '10.
DRS (and perhaps the presence of pass-able cars from the 2010 team intake) has made a difference in Monaco as well, though. We had 16 overtaking moves in both 2011 and '13.
The last wet Monaco GP was in 2008 - which was one of Lewis Hamilton's particularly epic wet-weather wins, and came despite him glancing a barrier and getting a puncture early on.
Other famous wet Monacos include Michael Schumacher's dominant 1997 triumph (the day the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve and polesitter Heinz-Harald Frentzen started on slicks when they really shouldn't have done) and the 1996 race in which Olivier Panis came from 14th on the grid to win his sole GP and the last for the Ligier team.
Other famous wet Monacos include Michael Schumacher's dominant 1997 triumph (the day the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve and polesitter Heinz-Harald Frentzen started on slicks when they really shouldn't have done) and the 1996 race in which Olivier Panis came from 14th on the grid to win his sole GP and the last for the Ligier team.
Rain
JONATHAN NOBLE: "It has been threatening to rain all day - even though the F1 world arrived in Monaco to blue skies this morning.
"The micro climate here has not disappointed either, with a major downpour - including a decent hail storm - delivering plenty of water on to the track over the past 20 minutes.
"Teams now face the dilemma of deciding if the risk of crashing in FP2 is greater than the knowledge gained from proper wet weather running."
Pastor Maldonado insists he is unaffected by the criticism he has faced:
Pastor Maldonado says F1 crash criticism doesn't bother him
Pastor Maldonado says F1 crash criticism doesn't bother him
GP2: Monaco Here’s the top six from that free practice session, which stayed dry despite those threatening clouds…
1 Palmer 1m20.707s
2 Cecotto +0.336s
3 Richelmi +0.866s
4 Coletti +1.195s
5 Evans +1.222s
6 Canamasas +1.226s
1 Palmer 1m20.707s
2 Cecotto +0.336s
3 Richelmi +0.866s
4 Coletti +1.195s
5 Evans +1.222s
6 Canamasas +1.226s
Very dark skies in Monaco and light rain hitting the track once again. It could get worse at any point now.
GP2: Monaco Championship leader Jolyon Palmer ends 45mins of free practice with the fastest time, the DAMS driver setting a 1m20.707s on supersoft tyres, ahead of Johnny Cecotto Jr and Stephane Richelmi.
Stefano Coletti was the fastest of those on the soft tyre in fourth, 1.1s off the pace, ahead of Mitch Evans.
Stefano Coletti was the fastest of those on the soft tyre in fourth, 1.1s off the pace, ahead of Mitch Evans.
GP2: Monaco Felipe Nasr has just caused a red flag. He hit the wall at Portier, then outbraked himself got launched by the kerbs at New Chicane and ploughed into the tyrewall. He's wrecked his front wing and the left-front corner of his Carlin car.
The FIA is to continue with its efforts to change engine noise despite the 'trumpet' failure.
Full story here.
Full story here.
After Alonso stated his frustration by the lack of support from his "closest friends", Ferrari has issued a statement in which president Luca di Montezemolo labels the Spaniard "the best driver in the world."
Read the updated story here.
Read the updated story here.
GP2: Monaco After that light rain shower it is very much dry now for GP2 free practice, which has just begun.
As you would expect in Monaco, Flavio Briatore has just been spotted in the paddock.
In non-F1 news, AUTOSPORT understands Formula 3 could return to Monaco next year:
Formula 3 could make Monaco Grand Prix F1 support bill return
Formula 3 could make Monaco Grand Prix F1 support bill return
Twitter
Happiness at Caterham after the first 90 minutes of running in Monte Carlo:
"A better FP1 for us than we've had for a while and both drivers are reporting decent progress on set-ups and car balance."
"A better FP1 for us than we've had for a while and both drivers are reporting decent progress on set-ups and car balance."
EDD STRAW: "Interesting to note where Hamilton and Rosberg found their speed in FP1. Rosberg faster in sector 1, Hamilton faster in sector 2 and similar in the final sector."
Meanwhile, Adrian Newey has put an end to speculation linking him to Ferrari.
Adrian Newey rules out leaving Red Bull for Ferrari
Adrian Newey rules out leaving Red Bull for Ferrari
The rain has started to fall in Monaco. It's very light at the moment.
The chequered flag's out, here's the final order:
1 Hamilton 1m18.271s
2 Rosberg +0.032s
3 Ricciardo +0.235s
4 Alonso +0.659s
5 Vettel +0.772s
6 Raikkonen +1.196s
7 Bottas +1.223s
8 Perez +1.395s
9 Magnussen +1.518s
10 Hulkenberg +1.585s
1 Hamilton 1m18.271s
2 Rosberg +0.032s
3 Ricciardo +0.235s
4 Alonso +0.659s
5 Vettel +0.772s
6 Raikkonen +1.196s
7 Bottas +1.223s
8 Perez +1.395s
9 Magnussen +1.518s
10 Hulkenberg +1.585s
The Spaniard used reverse to return to the track. You don't see that too often in F1 these days.
Alonso also involved in an incident as he runs wide at Mirabeau. He didn't make contact, however, and managed to continue.
By: Matt Beer, Ben Anderson, Pablo Elizalde, Edd Straw, Charles Bradley, Jonathan Noble
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