Free 1: Fernando Alonso fastest in Monaco

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has ended the first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix fastest, after a red flag brought a premature end to the session as Heikki Kovalainen suffered a large engine failure throughout the tunnel. The Lotus of Romain Grosjean was 2nd, with Sergio Perez 3rd for Sauber.

As the session got underway, the usual procedures ensured as the majority of the cars left the pits to complete their installation laps. Heikki Kovalainen and Jean-Eric Vergne were first out, with Sergio Perez eventually setting the first timed lap of the session with a 01:39.497. This time was quickly beaten by the Toro Ross of Vergne, who improved on that initial time on each of his next six laps. The Frenchman eventually got his time down to a 01:19.086, before fellow countryman Romain Grosjean assumed the top spot for Lotus.

With one Lotus atop the timing sheets, the second car of Kimi Raikkonen remained in the garage after only completing one installation lap. The Iceman remained in the pits for rest of the session, with the mechanics swarming around the partially dismantled Lotus E20 as they set to adjusting the steering of the car to meet with Raikkonen’s approval.

Whilst the Lotus mechanics worked on Raikkonen’s car, his team-mate Grosjean was swapping fastest laps atop the timing sheets with Michael Schumacher. That was until the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso went top, as Felipe Massa scraped the barrier on the entrance to the turn 12 Tabac corner.

With an hour gone in the session, Lewis Hamilton completed a 01:16.747 which propelled him to the top of the timing sheets. His reign lasted only for a few minutes, before the Lotus of Grosjean once again returned to the top. Michael Schumacher’s woeful 2012 season continued, as the 7-time World Champion’s front wing was seen hanging precariously from the nose of the car. The German will also suffer a 5-place grid penalty for the race, for allegedly causing the incident with Bruno Senna in Spain.

Fernando Alonso returned to the top as the session entered its closing stages, firstly with a 01:16.495, before improving on that time with a 01:16.265. With only several minutes remaining in the session, Heikki Kovalainen was seen at a standstill on the exit of the tunnel, with thick smoke billowing out of his Caterham. This created visibility issues as drivers exited the pit-lane, and the session was ultimately red flagged to allow the smoke to clear and marshals to attend to the stricken Caterham.

With high amounts of oil leaked onto the track from the Caterham, plus the smoke still lingering within the tunnel, the session failed to restart bringing a premature end to the opening practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix. The teams’ and drivers’ will return to the track later in the afternoon, when the super-soft (red) tyres could well make their debut appearance of 2012.

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