Thursday practice for the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix began on the streets of Monte Carlo. The narrow road, barriers and slow corners left almost no margin for error, requiring drivers to build confidence lap by lap while managing tyre warm-up and placing their cars accurately beside the walls. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest time with a 1:12.126, followed by Max Verstappen in second, 0.154 seconds behind. Red Bull showed good traction through the slow corners. Lewis Hamilton was third, with Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen fourth and fifth.
Carlos Sainz was the leading midfield driver in sixth, ahead of Valtteri Bottas in seventh. Force India’s Sergio Pérez was eighth and Romain Grosjean ninth. Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin made the top ten, showing that he was adapting quickly to the narrow circuit. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
Brendon Hartley completed 46 laps, the highest total of the session, while Lance Stroll ran 43 and Stoffel Vandoorne 37. Fernando Alonso managed only 16 laps and Kevin Magnussen seven, leaving some teams needing to make up ground on basic set-up work and tyre data in later practice. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
The two Toro Rosso cars were 12th and 14th, with Brendon Hartley ahead of Pierre Gasly. Charles Leclerc finished 16th as Sauber continued to search for mechanical grip, while Marcus Ericsson was 19th, more than three seconds off the fastest time. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
The opening practice times on Thursday in Monaco did not necessarily reflect the ultimate pace, but Red Bull’s one-two gave the team a positive start. Overtaking is difficult here, making clean laps in practice and Saturday’s qualifying results especially important. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
Teams would next shift their attention from single-lap pace to long runs and tyre management. Street circuits usually become faster as a race weekend progresses, so Thursday’s data needed to be reassessed in the context of track evolution. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
The official F1 results listed all 20 drivers, led by Daniel Ricciardo in 1:12.126, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton following. The table below gives each driver’s fastest lap and completed lap count, showing the full order from opening practice. The result also provided an important reference for subsequent set-up work and weekend strategy.
| Position | Driver | Team | Lap time / gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:12.126 | 36 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.154 seconds | 25 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.354 seconds | 34 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +0.915 seconds | 40 |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | +0.940 seconds | 38 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | +1.330 seconds | 40 |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +1.376 seconds | 39 |
| 8 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | +1.591 seconds | 39 |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | +1.817 seconds | 24 |
| 10 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | +1.836 seconds | 40 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | +1.874 seconds | 39 |
| 12 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | +1.908 seconds | 46 |
| 13 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | +2.008 seconds | 38 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | +2.114 seconds | 38 |
| 15 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | +2.165 seconds | 37 |
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | +2.395 seconds | 39 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | +2.511 seconds | 16 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | +2.656 seconds | 43 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | +3.080 seconds | 39 |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +6.675 seconds | 7 |
