Monaco GP 2018
MAY 24, 2018
Practice 1 Report - Gaining confidence
© The Cahier Archive
By Dan Knutson in Monaco
In typical Monaco fashion, the drivers went faster and faster as they gained confidence threading their cars between the barriers during Free Practice 1. The most confident of all, and the fastest in the session was Red Bull's Dan Ricciardo who was just a shade quicker than his teammate Max Verstappen.
The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull TAG Heuer – Ricciardo and Verstappen; Force India Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon; Williams Mercedes –Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin; Renault – Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz; Toro Rosso Honda – Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Sauber Ferrari – Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc.
While many F1 drivers live in Monaco, only Leclerc is a true Monaco citizen.
"I'm living on the start-finish line, so pretty close to the track," he said of the 19-turn 2.073-mile (3.337 km) street circuit.
This will be his first Monaco Grand Prix as a racer.
"I am very excited. I mean, I have been waiting for this moment since (I was a) child. I remember watching the grand prix when I was four years old, in the exit of the first corner. I was in my best friend's apartment, watching down the Formula 1, dreaming one day of being part of it and this day has finally happened, so I definitely can't wait to be driving here."
Alonso, who does not live in Monaco, was the first out in FP1.
The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Centigrade).
While the drivers had tried Pirelli's new hyper soft compound slicks, with the pink sidewalls, in testing, this was the first time they used them at a designated race track.
The other two compounds available for the weekend were the super soft (red sidewalls) and the ultra soft (purple sidewalls).
Hamilton, on the ultras, set the early pace with a time of 1:14.749. Teammate Bottas used the same compound to get a 1:14.347.
Sirotkin was the first to tag the wall, hitting it with his right rear tire. He limped back to the pits.
Verstappen was the first to get below 1:14 as he clocked a 1:13.975 on the new Pirelli hypers. He followed that with a 1:13.299.
Ricciardo was second followed by Vettel, Bottas and Hartley as the 30-minute mark approached.
But then Riccardo posted a 1:13.139. Verstappen topped that with a time of 1:12.723.
At the 40-minute break the top 10 were: Verstappen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Hartley, Sainz, Hamilton, Gasly and Ocon. Alonso, who had only done five laps, was last.
As things got going again, Hamilton used the hyper softs to move up to second with a time of 1:13.038, and then into first with a 1:12.480.
Hamilton clocked the quickest time in FP1 last year – 1:13.425 on Pirelli's ultra soft tires.
Verstappen was having none of that as he ripped off a lap in 1:12.280. He then went off at first turn but did not hit anything.
At the one-hour mark the top 10 were now: Verstappen, Hamilton, Ricciardo, who had brushed the barriers, Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Perez, Sirotkin, Sainz and Ocon.
A few minutes later Ricciardo improved to second, 0.056 of a second slower than Verstappen. Then Ricciardo topped the times with a 1:12.126.
In the final part of the session the drivers lapped on worn tires, so Ricciardo stayed ahead, and the top 10 remained fairly static.
The final order of the top 10 was: Ricciardo, Verstappen, Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Sainz, Bottas, Perez, Grosjean and Sirotkin.
The gaining confidence FP1 ended with the drivers doing practice starts on the straight as it is not possible to try them at pit lane exit they do at other tracks.