Monaco Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz tops first practice as Alex Albon crashes

The Monaco Grand Prix is unrecorded connected 5 Live and the BBC Sport website

Williams operator Alex Albon brought the archetypal signifier league astatine the Monaco Grand Prix to an aboriginal extremity with a clang astatine the archetypal corner.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz acceptable the gait from Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton successful an upgraded Mercedes.

Championship person Max Verstappen was struggling successful sixth successful his Red Bull.

Verstappen, complaining that the car was acceptable excessively debased and bottoming, was down his team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Albon's clang prevented Leclerc from mounting a thigh that mightiness person threatened Sainz.

Leclerc, calved and raised successful Monaco and connected rod present for the past 2 years, had been forced to wantonness a speedy thigh which would person been somewhat slower than Sainz's erstwhile helium had a infinitesimal astatine the 2nd portion of the Swimming Pool and was poised to effort again erstwhile the league was stopped due to the fact that Albon's car was successful the mediate of the roadworthy astatine the exit of Sainte Devote.

Alonso, who was 0.338 seconds slower than Sainz, was besides connected a quicker thigh erstwhile the league stopped with a small implicit 3 minutes to go.

George Russell was besides struggling successful the 2nd Mercedes. He was 15th fastest and a 2nd slower than Hamilton and complaining of a deficiency of rear grip and being incapable to get his tyres up to temperature.

Hamilton had an encouraging league successful the Mercedes, which has a large redesign featuring revised beforehand suspension, sidepods and level arsenic they question to statesman a way backmost to competitiveness.

Hamilton was adjacent to the beforehand passim and was concisely fastest earlier being surpassed by Sainz and Alonso.

Nico Hulkenberg was different operator to autumn foul of the Monaco walls, breaking his instrumentality connected the obstruction connected the wrong of the harbour-front chicane.

Lando Norris impressed successful the McLaren, mounting seventh fastest clip successful a car that was among the slowest of each astatine the past contention successful Monaco.