Alonso quickest in practice 1 - Monaco

The Spaniard, driving a Renault, clocked the fastest lap with a time of 1:16.712, just one tenth of a second quicker than Honda's third driver Briton Anthony Davidson.

Alonso, who has never finished on the podium in Monte Carlo, set a time that was marginally quicker than his chief title rival seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who wound up fourth.

Alonso's Renault teammate Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was third fastest.

As is a tradition at Monte Carlo, the first practice sessions take place on Thursday - meaning times are often much slower as drivers lay down rubber on the barrier-lined street circuit.

Most of the leading drivers left it late before setting a time this morning, giving their teams' third drivers a chance to shine and gain experience of the unique circuit in the Mediterranean principality.

In addition to Anthony Davidson's time, Robert Kubica of Poland also impressed by claiming the sixth fastest time for BMW, just behind former Monaco winner Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia in a McLaren-Mercedes.

Briton Jenson Button in a Honda was eighth-fastest while his compatriot David Coulthard, twice a winner in Monaco, was 11th quickest for Red Bull.

Frenchman Franck Montagny had a miserable session for Super Aguri and went off a number of times on his way to the third slowest time as he learned his way around and 'swept' the track for the anticipated improved times of the afternoon session.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen had a poor start to his weekend when his car stopped on track with smoke coming out from the back. It is yet unclear if the team will be forced to change the Finn's engine.

Pos  Driver        Team                     Time              Laps
 1.  Alonso        Renault             (M)  1:16.712           13
 2.  Davidson      Honda               (M)  1:16.872 +  0.160  31
 3.  Fisichella    Renault             (M)  1:16.888 +  0.176  12
 4.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari             (B)  1:16.973 +  0.261   8
 5.  Montoya       McLaren-Mercedes    (M)  1:17.458 +  0.746   7
 6.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber          (M)  1:17.869 +  1.157  19
 7.  Wurz          Williams-Cosworth   (B)  1:17.949 +  1.237  28
 8.  Button        Honda               (M)  1:18.329 +  1.617  12
 9.  Doornbos      Red Bull-Ferrari    (M)  1:18.394 +  1.682  23
10.  Barrichello   Honda               (M)  1:18.406 +  1.694  12
11.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari    (M)  1:18.447 +  1.735  10
12.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth   (B)  1:18.480 +  1.768  15
13.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth   (B)  1:18.571 +  1.859  17
14.  Massa         Ferrari             (B)  1:18.695 +  1.983  15
15.  Trulli        Toyota              (B)  1:18.703 +  1.991  11
16.  R.Schumacher  Toyota              (B)  1:19.021 +  2.309  14
17.  Villeneuve    BMW-Sauber          (M)  1:19.246 +  2.534  16
18.  Klien         Red Bull-Ferrari    (M)  1:19.543 +  2.831  10
19.  Jani          Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M)  1:19.651 +  2.939  25
20.  Mondini       MF1-Toyota          (B)  1:19.669 +  2.957  29
21.  Monteiro      MF1-Toyota          (B)  1:19.730 +  3.018  17
22.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M)  1:19.857 +  3.145  16
23.  Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M)  1:20.137 +  3.425  13
24.  Albers        MF1-Toyota          (B)  1:20.552 +  3.840  17
25.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda   (B)  1:21.144 +  4.432  23
26.  Montagny      Super Aguri-Honda   (B)  1:21.594 +  4.882  21
27.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)  2:06.592 +  49.880  3
28.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber          (M)  no time             1

All Timing Unofficial