Fernando Alonso topped the first practice session on a sunbaked Monte Carlo circuit.
The Ferrari driver driver edged out the Red Bull of Sebastien Vettel, in a session which saw the top ten covered by less than a second.
Alonso did not set his fastest lap until twenty minutes before the end of the session and instead the majority of the session saw his team-mate, Felipe Massa trade places with the two McLaren drivers.
Robert Kubica was also briefly at the top of the times, but he was forced to settle for third in his Renault R30.
The Polish driver was followed by Red Bull’s Mark Webber who might have gone ever faster had it not been for him catching traffic on several occasions.
Although the drivers had worried that the slower cars would increase the number of accidents around the tight and twisty street circuit, the session actually featured little drama. The only major incidents saw Hispania’s Karun Chandhok spin his car and brush the barriers at Massenet, while Sauber Kamui Kobayashi ran over the kerbs at the Swimming Pool and was thrown into the armco barrier.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alonso Ferrari 1:15.927 31 2. Vettel Red Bull 1:16.000 + 0.073 26 3. Kubica Renault 1:16.016 + 0.089 28 4. Webber Red Bull 1:16.382 + 0.455 24 5. Massa Ferrari 1:16.517 + 0.590 29 6. Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.589 + 0.662 21 7. Hamilton McLaren 1:16.647 + 0.720 32 8. Button McLaren 1:16.692 + 0.765 29 9. Sutil Force India 1:16.805 + 0.878 23 10. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:16.857 + 0.930 30 11. Rosberg Mercedes 1:17.149 + 1.222 14 12. Barrichello Williams 1:17.331 + 1.404 28 13. Liuzzi Force India 1:17.704 + 1.777 26 14. Petrov Renault 1:17.718 + 1.791 38 15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:17.991 + 2.064 36 16. Hulkenberg Williams 1:18.397 + 2.470 39 17. de la Rosa Sauber 1:18.434 + 2.507 37 18. Kobayashi Sauber 1:18.547 + 2.620 32 19. Glock Virgin 1:19.527 + 3.600 23 20. Kovalainen Lotus 1:19.606 + 3.679 31 21. Trulli Lotus 1:19.902 + 3.975 30 22. di Grassi Virgin 1:20.566 + 4.639 18 23. Senna HRT 1:21.688 + 5.761 27 24. Chandhok HRT 1:21.853 + 5.926 6
