| 09:50:25
| Welcome to F1-Live.com and live coverage of the first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. |
| 09:52:41
| Monaco is expected to be a real challenge for the drivers this year with the loss of driver aids. This morning’s practice session will be used to try and find a good balance on the car while evaluating the tyres on offer from Bridgestone. |
| 09:54:54
| Bridgestone have the soft and super-soft tyre available this weekend. This year they have made the softer ‘option’ even softer and therefore in theory more grip should be available. |
| 09:56:48
| Toro Rosso Ferrari has the new STR3 chassis available for the first time. It will be a steep learning curve for the team, Bourdais and Vettel. |
| 09:59:02
| The action starts a day early in Monte Carlo. Friday is deemed a day off anf third practice starts as per normal on Saturday morning. |
| 10:00:37
| The first 90-minute session of the day is underway. |
| 10:01:06
| It is a sunny morning as the first few runners head out. |
| 10:01:17
| Most will complete an out lap and then pit for checks. |
| 10:02:06
| Half of the field are straight out for an installation lap. |
| 10:02:26
| Fisichella, the first man on track, is back in the pits. |
| 10:03:02
| Coulthard is very slow on his return to the pit. |
| 10:03:48
| Vettel has stayed out for a second lap in the new Toro Rosso. |
| 10:04:06
| Bourdais has done the same in the second STR3. |
| 10:04:56
| Hamilton runs over a chicane as he catches a slow Toyota of Trulli. |
| 10:05:37
| The early runnes have all pitted. No sign yet of Massa, Raikkonen, Glock, Kovalainen or Barrichello. |
| 10:05:51
| Glock now heads out in his Toyota. |
| 10:06:45
| Kovalainen is out in his McLaren. |
| 10:07:39
| Kovalainen is on the softer tyre for his installation lap. |
| 10:08:48
| Michael Schumacher is at this race watching from the Ferrari stand. |
| 10:09:26
| Barrichello is now on his installation lap. No times have been set as yet. |
| 10:11:01
| Only Ferrari yet to run. This is normal and usually they wait until a third of the session has been completed. |
| 10:12:59
| No one on track. Massa is chatting with engineers in the Ferrari garage. |
| 10:13:16
| Vettel is back out in his Toro Rosso. |
| 10:14:03
| Bourdais too is back out. |
| 10:15:01
| Toro Rosso have tested the new car, but still they will want to learn as much as they can today. |
| 10:15:28
| Vettel starts his first timed lap of the session. Bourdais will do so in a moment. |
| 10:17:01
| Vettel sets a first lap in the mid 1:28s, some 12s off the fastest time in the same session last year. |
| 10:17:17
| Bourdas is three seconds fastest on his first timed lap. |
| 10:19:23
| Bourdais remains the faster of the STR drivers as they start to bring down the lap times. |
| 10:20:29
| Bourdais of course has plenty of street circuit experience from his stint in Champ Car. |
| 10:21:14
| Bourdais pits. |
| 10:23:38
| Vettel is chipping away at his lap time and is now just a tenth off his team-mate. |
| 10:24:56
| Nico Rosberg heads out in his Williams as Vettel pits. |
| 10:25:35
| Nakajima also on track for Williams. |
| 10:26:35
| Nelson Piquet heads out in his Renault. |
| 10:27:00
| Rosberg is immediately on the pace. |
| 10:27:36
| He moves fastest on a mid 1:19s, almost three seconds up on Bourdais already. |
| 10:27:54
| Toyota send out Trulli and Glock. |
| 10:28:48
| A steady lap from Nakajima is six seconds slower than Rosberg who has improved his own best. |
| 10:29:07
| Barrichello, Button and Kovalainen join the action. |
| 10:29:28
| Massa and Raikkonen head out. |
| 10:30:08
| Nakajima improves to second but is a cool four seconds off Rosberg. |
| 10:30:34
| Glock moves second for Toyota just ahead of Trulli. |
| 10:31:43
| Button and Glock trade second best times. |
| 10:32:29
| Hamilton heads out as Trulli moves second ahead of Glock and Button. |
| 10:32:51
| Massa moves P5 on his first lap. |
| 10:33:30
| Rosberg remains fastest from Button now. |
| 10:34:31
| Changes as Massa is now third, Raikkonen remains eighth. |
| 10:34:49
| Hamilton's first lap is not fast but he is on a hot lap now. |
| 10:35:09
| Hamilton moves fastest, half a second ahead of Rosberg who has now pitted. |
| 10:36:14
| Massa is chasing Hamilton on track at the moment. Raikkonen is now second fastest. |
| 10:36:30
| Massa improves and is second to Hamilton. |
| 10:37:48
| Vettel is back out for a second stint and is now faster than Bourdais. |
| 10:39:25
| Raikkonen is now second ahead of Massa and Alonso who vaults fourth. |
| 10:40:26
| Kubica heads out in his BMW Sauber. |
| 10:40:47
| Hamilton passes a Renault as Coulthard has come to a halt. |
| 10:41:43
| Coulthard was on his first timed lap of the session. His car is being pushed to safety. |
| 10:42:38
| Hamilton has pitted. |
| 10:43:39
| The front runners have pitted. Alonso remains on track. |
| 10:45:03
| Kubica has moved fifth fastest. Team-mate Heidfeld is on his first timed lap. |
| 10:45:25
| Webber has moved up the order in his Red Bull. |
| 10:45:49
| Kubica is now fourth ahead of Alonso. |
| 10:46:58
| Bourdais has not been back out since his initial run. He is slowest at the moment as Heidfeld has now set a time. |
| 10:47:31
| Fisichella moves tenth in the Force India. |
| 10:49:18
| Bourdais is now back out. |
| 10:51:13
| Kubica has now pitted. All of the front-runners are in the pits. |
| 10:52:06
| Barrichello has moved his Honda into the top ten. |
| 10:53:13
| Hamilton and Kovalainen ar back out for McLaren. |
| 10:53:24
| Red flag. Session stopped. |
| 10:54:08
| Not sure why there is a red as yet. |
| 10:55:32
| It seems they have all pitted, so no idea why the session has been halted. |
| 10:56:44
| So a phantom red flag it seems. Perhaps someone spun, but nothing obvious... |
| 10:58:28
| The session remains halted. |
| 10:58:58
| It seems we have a leaky drain and that is why the session has been halted. |
| 10:59:43
| Organisers are examining a drain on the exit of Sainte Devote. |
| 11:02:50
| The session remains red flagged at the moment. |
| 11:04:58
| They are still working on the drain cover but it is hardly frantic action. |
| 11:08:40
| Engines are now firing up. |
| 11:09:06
| The green flag is out and the session is back underway. |
| 11:09:33
| A number of drivers head straight out. |
| 11:10:28
| Hamilton remains fastest from Raikkonen. They are both faster than Alonso's best in the same session last year. |
| 11:10:47
| All back on track except Raikkonen and Massa. |
| 11:12:36
| Now every driver is on track except Coulthard who stopped earlier with a problem. |
| 11:13:34
| Hamilton and others on fast laps. |
| 11:14:15
| Trulli, P12, pulls off with a problem exiting the tunnel. |
| 11:15:08
| It seems Trulli brushed the wall and that is why he is pulling the TF108 into retirement. Rear left contact. |
| 11:15:24
| Now Heidfeld, 11th, has stopped. |
| 11:16:09
| It seems to be a mechanical problem for Heidfeld. |
| 11:16:58
| Kubica moves third fastest in his BMW Sauber. |
| 11:17:24
| Hamilton gains four-tenths on his own best lap time. |
| 11:18:35
| Raikkonen improves but remains second. |
| 11:19:31
| Kubica pits. Hamilton and Raikkonen remain on track. |
| 11:19:48
| Kovalainen is now up to fourth. |
| 11:20:17
| Massa improves and is up to third ahead of Kubica and Kovalainen. |
| 11:20:45
| Bourdais is running well and moving up the order. |
| 11:21:14
| Kimi Raikkonen now moves fastest ahead of Hamilton. |
| 11:23:01
| Seven minutes remain. |
| 11:23:45
| Hamilton and Massa run together on track. |
| 11:23:56
| Massa has now backed off to get some space. |
| 11:25:28
| Massa improves but remains third fastest overall. |
| 11:26:18
| The circuit is now busy with four minutes remaining. |
| 11:26:44
| Kovalainen moves third in his McLaren Mercedes. |
| 11:27:07
| A gain from Fisichella who is now ninth. |
| 11:28:03
| Rosberg is sixth fastest as he finds time. |
| 11:28:39
| Piquet loses the back end and has to cut across the chicane exiting the tunnel. He is just 18th at the moment. |
| 11:29:38
| Hamilton is on a hot lap. |
| 11:29:59
| The chequered flag is out. |
| 11:30:28
| Hamilton loses time and will not improve. |
| 11:31:24
| So Raikkonen is fastest from Hamilton, Kovalainen, Massa, Rosberg, Kubica, Alonso, Barrichello, Webber and Fisichella. |
