Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time followed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday. Both have won twice, five races into an intriguing Formula One season, and Vettel leads Hamilton by six points. In somewhat cloudy and warm conditions, Hamilton was .200 of a second clear of Vettel. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was third quickest, followed by Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, the other race winner this season. Making his return to F1 as a one-off replacement for McLaren's Fernarndo Alonso - who is skipping Monaco to compete in the Indianapolis 500 - veteran Jenson Button was 14th.
Meanwhile, Formula One teams have been told to change the rear jack points on their cars for safety reasons after a recent Formula Four accident that cost British teenager Billy Monger his legs. International Automobile Federation (FIA) safety director Laurent Mekies wrote to the teams ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix seeking modifications to the points at which jacks are engaged to raise the back of cars at pitstops.
"Following several front-to-rear incidents over the past months in various single-seater categories, the FIA would like all F1 teams to ensure that their rear jacking point designs cannot act aggressively during such an incident," he wrote.
