They say Friday lap times don't count for much in the overall scheme of things but around the streets of the Principality, things don't follow the norm.
This is because the first day of running takes place on Thursday, but the same principle applies, maybe more so because the teams now have an extra day to get things in order before the final free practice session and qualifying on Saturday.
Despite this, it was still a great day for Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who finished the first day of play with a record braking lap time in P1.
“I was pretty happy with the afternoon session,” he said. “We had a small issue at the start of the session which needed some extra time to be looked at, but then we were on our way. It's fun to drive these cars around Monaco because they're faster than in the past. They're also wider, and I kissed the barrier a couple of times this morning, but I could carry on with no damage.”
“Overall it has been a good day. It's only Thursday, so we have to wait for Saturday to get a clear picture, but it is nice to have a good feeling with the car already. I was very happy with the first run in the morning and since then we didn't have to change too much, but we improved the car in the afternoon.”
‘It feels good on a quick lap, the long runs are a bit harder to judge because of traffic. Now it's about fine-tuning and we have time for that. Yet, we still have to do something more on the car to be more competitive. Meanwhile, we'll have some commitments at the track tomorrow; it is more relaxed than usual because we have more time, but we are definitely not on holiday!”
