On the day it was revealed that the family of Jules Bianchi are launching legal action over the fatal accident that killed their son, Formula One had one of its most eventful practice sessions in Monaco.
There were two crashes. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer smashed into a barrier after failing to successfully negotiate Tabac corner and Felipe Massa crashed his Williams at Sainte Dévote, triggering the introduction of a virtual safety car
There was also an incident involving Jenson Button. Nico Rosberg drove his Mercedes over a drain cover, appearing to loosen it, and it later smashed into Button’s front right wing. Rosberg suffered a rear tyre puncture and had to limp back to the pits.
Another safety car period was introduced when Esteban Gutiérrez’s Haas came to a halt on the track with engine problems.
Lewis Hamilton, chasing his first win here since 2008, was fastest in FP1. He swapped fastest laps with his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg – the winner here for the past three years – but the world champion finished a tenth of a second faster than his German rival.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest and he was followed by the Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
