Prac Two: Hamilton tops the charts

Thursday 22nd May 2008

Lewis Hamilton cruised through the streets of Monte Carlo today en route to what he hopes will be a maiden Monaco Grand Prix victory.

Hamilton posted the quickest time throughout practice, with the McLaren star's intent clear as he aims to go one better than his second-placed finish of a year ago.

It could all be in vain, though, because despite clear blue skies dominating across the Cote d'Azur, rain is forecast this weekend.

In dry conditions, Hamilton did all that was asked of him as he was comfortably fastest by almost 0.4secs from the Williams of Nico Rosberg.

The 23-year-old's lap of one minute 15.140secs was almost 0.6secs quicker than Fernando Alonso's pole position of last season.

Hamilton knows if he is to take the chequered flag on Sunday, he has to follow in the footsteps of his former team-mate and be at the head of affairs come the start of the race.

Behind Rosberg, reigning World Champion and current leader in the Drivers' standings Kimi Raikkonen was third overall, close to half a second down.

Fellow Ferrari driver Felipe Massa and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen were fourth and fifth, and the only other drivers to come within a second of Hamilton's trailblazing time.

Robert Kubica is again firmly in the running as he was sixth, with Alonso seventh for Renault, although the Spaniard cut his session short.

Alonso slid into the barrier on exiting Sainte Devote and removed his rear wing, causing one of two red flags for the day as debris was quickly removed from the circuit.

In the morning session, a slightly-dislodged manhole cover led to a 16-minute delay as track officials ensured it would not work loose and so endanger the drivers.

Alonso, though, had followed the lead of team-mate Nelson Piquet who also damaged his rear wing, but the rookie Brazilian at least returned to the action later in the afternoon session.

Behind Alonso, the Hondas of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello performed admirably, finishing eighth and 10th to sandwich Kazuki Nakajima in his Williams.

David Coulthard, who had suffered a small fire inside his Red Bull to curtail his morning run to three untimed laps, finished 14th in the afternoon.

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:15.140 40 laps
02 N. Rosberg Williams 1:15.533 39 laps
03 K. R�ikk�nen Ferrari 1:15.572 42 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 1:15.869 37 laps
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:15.881 39 laps
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:16.296 34 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:16.310 27 laps
08 J. Button Honda 1:16.351 45 laps
09 K. Nakajima Williams 1:16.372 40 laps
10 R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.418 32 laps
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:16.426 44 laps
12 T. Glock Toyota 1:16.688 46 laps
13 M. Webber Red Bull 1:17.094 39 laps
14 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:17.131 39 laps
15 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:17.246 35 laps
16 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:17.251 33 laps
17 J. Trulli Toyota 1:17.379 28 laps
18 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:17.581 38 laps
19 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:18.176 31 laps
20 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:18.225 38 laps