Thursday Free Practice - Monaco GP

Australian Mark Webber topped the times for Jaguar in Thursday's first practice session at Monaco after a late run shot him to the front ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix in the sun-soaked principality.

Webber set a time of 1:16.373 to outpace BAR-Honda driving Briton Jenson Button, a Monaco resident, by 0.103 seconds as the session ended with all drivers escaping the barriers. Briton David Coulthard, who has won in Monaco twice in the last three years, finished the session third ahead of Renault pair Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli, in fourth and fifth respectively.

Spaniard Alonso, who said after his impressive second place finish in Barcelona that he may be able to fight for a win in Monaco, finished with a time of 1:16.578, 0.205 seconds behind session leader Webber. Italian Trulli had failed to make it out onto the track until late in the session as he waited for his team to repair his Renault after he crashed it at the hairpin during morning testing.

Monaco master Michael Schumacher, who is chasing his record-equalling sixth win around the principality, could only finish sixth best in his Ferrari, with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella seventh in the Jordan Ford.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya finished eighth for Williams-BMW, Finn Kimi Raikkonen was ninth for McLaren-Mercedes and the second Ferrari of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello completed the top ten.

British rookie Justin Wilson went off at Sainte Devote and his countryman Ralph Firman, who went off there twice in testing, continued his trend in practice by using the same run-off to escape the barriers again.

Firman also joined Montoya and Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia in using the new run-off area in the second corner of the swimming pool complex to good effect while Dutchman Jos Verstappen made use of the slip road at Mirabeau.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:16.373 157.438 km/h 21 2. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:16.476 + 0.103 25 3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:16.505 + 0.132 25 4. Alonso Renault (M) 1:16.578 + 0.205 17 5. Trulli Renault (M) 1:16.800 + 0.427 14 6. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:16.915 + 0.542 33 7. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:16.930 + 0.557 20 8. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:17.173 + 0.800 22 9. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:17.218 + 0.845 22 10. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:17.372 + 0.999 31 11. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:17.550 + 1.177 27 12. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:17.710 + 1.337 25 13. Panis Toyota (M) 1:17.811 + 1.438 21 14. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:17.913 + 1.540 15 15. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:18.039 + 1.666 26 16. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:18.133 + 1.760 21 17. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:18.660 + 2.287 24 18. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:18.952 + 2.579 19 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:19.026 + 2.653 21 20. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:19.956 + 3.583 29 All Timing Unofficial