Frenchman sets the pace in Monaco
Romain Grosjean showed the rest of the field how best to deal with the famous Monaco traffic by claiming the top spot in this morning's free practice session in Monaco, just ahead of Lucas di Grassi and Luca Filippi. The Frenchman ran on a different schedule to most of his closest rivals to set a best lap time of 1:21.267, almost two tenths faster than his nearest rival who was changing tyres as Grosjean set a string of quick laps halfway through the session.
The session opened under clear blue skies, with Andreas Zuber and Alberto Valerio swapping fastest times early in the session, but it was Filippi who was soon sitting on top of the timesheets while Grosjean was caught out in heavy traffic at Rascasse, tapping the rear of an almost stationary Davide Valsecchi and prompting an early stop. But it soon proved to be an inspired move: Grosjean, di Grassi and Filippi were soon swapping fastest laps, but it was the Frenchman who was able to take advantage when his rivals were forced to pit for fresh tyres. In the closing minutes of the session it was clear that a challenge was going to be made to the top time, but when Valerio caught the wall just out of St Devote after passing Michael Herck the session was red flagged, and Grosjean's competitors were forced to wait until this afternoon’s qualifying session to prove that they've got more in reserve.
Monaco – Free Practice
Driver Team Time Laps
1. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax Team 1:21.267 17
2. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:21.452 15
3. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:22.159 14
4. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:22.223 13
5. Pasto Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:22.233 16
6. Andreas Zuber FMSI 1:22.258 18
7. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:22.449 17
8. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:22.492 16
9. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:22.748 13
10. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:22.831 15
11. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:22.998 16
12. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:23.040 15
13. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1:23.086 16
14. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:23.370 18
15. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:23.484 16
16. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:23.523 16
17. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:23.744 17
18. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:23.984 16
19. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:24.078 15
20 Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:24.133 15
21. Luiz Razia FMSI 1:24.344 18
22. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:25.861 18
