Hamilton quickest in opening practice for Monaco GP - MotorSportsTalk

Defending Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton made a perfect start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend by finishing fastest in the first free practice session on Thursday.

Hamilton posted a fastest lap time of 1:18.750 to finish 0.149 seconds clear of Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen at the top of the timesheets in FP1 as Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg faded to ninth place place by the end of the session.

Rosberg’s weekend got off to a poor start when he brushed the wall at Tabac, forcing him to pit and ensure that no damage had been sustained to the Mercedes W06 Hybrid car. The German driver soon managed to get back out, but was unable to match Hamilton’s pace throughout the session.

En route to second place, Verstappen was unfazed by this being his first taste of the Monaco street circuit as he finished ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel at the top of the timesheets. His teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr, followed this good form by finishing fifth in the sister Toro Rosso car.

Pastor Maldonado put in a strong display for Lotus to finish sixth ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, whilst Kimi Raikkonen finished eighth in the second Ferrari ahead of Rosberg. Felipe Massa rounded out the top ten for Williams, whilst Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button ran well for McLaren to finish P11 and P12.

The first session saw a number of drivers get to grips with the newly resurfaced areas of the track and the widened parts of the circuit, but the first corner still acted as the biggest pitfall.

Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado were just four of the drivers to lock up at Sainte Devote and head down the slip road, but all managed to turn their cars around and get back on track.

Be sure to join us for FP2 live from Monaco on NBCSN and Live Extra from 8am ET on Thursday. For more information, click here.

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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How to Watch Seattle Supercross
Dylan Ferrandis may return before SX finale
SMX develops “Leader Lights”
Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

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