Verstappen shines in wet Monaco

MONACO: Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest but teenage rookie Max Verstappen stood out with an eye-catching practice performance on a rainy Thursday at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton, fresh from signing a new three-year deal with Mercedes, was quickest around the tight street circuit on a cool morning and then lapped in a day’s best of one minute 17.192 before rain limited running in the afternoon.

Hamilton, who is out to deny teammate Nico Rosberg a third win in a row in Monaco completed only 12 laps after lunch as the skies opened.

If Hamilton had been expected to set the pace, Verstappen’s early showing was surprising and highly impressive.

The 17-year-old, the only driver in the field never to have raced in Monaco, looked a natural as he lapped only 0.149 slower in his Toro Rosso after completing 42 near-faultless laps in the morning.

He was seventh fastest in the afternoon in a session redflagged after 14 minutes when Marussia’s Robert Merhi lost control at the tunnel exit and smashed into metal barriers.

Rosberg was ninth fastest in a first session that started with drivers on intermediate tyres after a heavy overnight storm swept the Riviera.

He was second in the afternoon, 0.740 slower than Hamilton, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen third and fourth. – Reuters