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Formula 1 Monaco GP

Monaco GP Thursday practice

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Green flag
FP2 has kicked off in Monaco.
Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo spotted in the Mercedes garage earlier, as the photo tweeted by the F1 official account shows.

They did give him one extra Ballon d'Or for some reason.
Mercedes predictably led the way in FP1 earlier today, but it was closer than you might have expected. Red Bull's Max Verstappen slotted in between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, with the top three covered by just 0.072s.
Welcome back to our coverage of Thursday Formula 1 practice at the Monaco Grand Prix, with FP2 set to kick off in just over five minutes.
Autosport
Here's our full report from an FP1 session topped by Lewis Hamilton, but in which Max Verstappen hinted there might yet be a challenge from Red Bull in Monaco. Join us again for FP2 from 1:45pm UK time.

Monaco Grand Prix practice: Hamilton fastest, Verstappen second

Formula 1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton led the way in the opening Thursday practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen by 0.059 seconds

Monaco Grand Prix practice: Hamilton fastest, Verstappen second
Practice starts are in full flow now on the main straight.
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And the rest: 11 Ricciardo; 12 Giovinazzi; 13 Kvyat; 14 Albon; 15 Norris; 16 Perez; 17 Russell; 18 Kubica; 19 Stroll; 20 Sainz (no time)
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Final FP1 order: 1 Hamilton; 2 Verstappen +0.059s; 3 Bottas +0.072s; 4 Leclerc +0.361s; 5 Vettel +0.717s; 6 Gasly +1.064s; 7 Hulkenberg +1.171s; 8 Magnussen +1.126s; 9 Raikkonen +1.257s; 10 Grosjean +1.273s.
Just before that, Sainz managed to sneak out of the pits with four seconds remaining to at least get one more lap of the circuit in.
Checkered flag
Grosjean improves to 10th with what's likely to be the final improvement of the session - the chequered flag is out.
It wasn't quite the end of the session for Hamilton, who has headed back out for Mercedes.
Another marginal improvement from Gasly, who shaves 0.019s off his personal best.
Grosjean gets up to 13th for Haas as Magnussen goes eight. Those two are the only drivers improving in the final five minutes of FP1.
Magnussen goes 11th now as Haas continues to play catch up.
Gasly has improved to sixth once more, but remains more than a second off Hamilton's time (and that of team-mate Verstappen).
Hamilton's car is wheeled back into the Mercedes garage. End of the session for the table-topper?
Radio Comms
"There should be time for at least six, potentially seven laps on this run before the chequered flag," Verstappen is told.
Sainz is sat in his car, so maybe - just maybe - the McLaren driver will get a run in before the end of this session. Around nine minutes to go now.
Radio Comms
"The grip is just so bad, so I'd rather just get off this tyre," says the hard-shod Stroll. He's subsequently told there's no alternative in this session.
News
Here's a reminder of why Grosjean and Magnussen spent so long in the pits:

Haas duo in bizarre black-flag incident in Monaco practice

Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen found themselves at the centre of a bizarre black flag moment in opening practice for the Monaco Grand Prix thanks to radio communications problems.

Haas duo in bizarre black-flag incident in Monaco practice
Grosjean improves to 16th on his first timed run back out on track. Magnussen, who's a place higher up, is also out there again.
Radio Comms
Hulkenberg called one of the Red Bulls "ignorant" a moment ago after he was blocked out of the chicane and on the run to Rascasse.
It is good news for Haas, which sends Grosjean back out on a set of new red-sidewalled tyres.
Movement down at Haas, finally, as Grosjean climbs back into his cockpit.
Ooooh, much better time from Verstappen now! The Red Bull pumps in a couple of personal bests in the first two sectors, then goes fastest of all in sector three to go second, 0.059s off Hamilton.
Information
As we missed the final half-hour marker, here's the top 10 with 25 minutes remaining: 1 Hamilton; 2 Bottas; 3 Leclerc; 4 Verstappen; 5 Vettel; 6 Hulkenberg; 7 Gasly; 8 Raikkonen; 9 Ricciardo; 10 Giovinazzi.
Verstappen gets ahead of Vettel on his next timed run to slot into fourth, but is 0.670s off the pace currently. Gasly has also improved but remains more than a second off.

By: Geoff Creighton

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