Alonso leads Hamilton in practice

Fernando Alonso was in impressive form as he set a stunning practice pace for Ferrari ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Alonso edged out Lewis Hamilton's McLaren by 0.105 seconds with Nico Rosberg third fastest for Mercedes ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren.

Sebastian Vettel had bettered Alonso in the morning but was half a second behind when the cars fitted the softer tyres in the afternoon.

Michael Schumacher was seventh fastest ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber.

Alonso, a two-time winner in Monaco, seemed determined to bend the track to his will and hurtled his Ferrari round in one minute and 15.1234 seconds.

At last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, he had led for 18 laps but in the closing stages found himself lapped by the Red Bulls and McLarens because of Ferrari's dwindling race pace, especially on the hard tyres.

Alonso was confident he could deliver a consistent challenge in Monaco because this is a track that demands mechanical grip and precise driving rather than aerodynamic efficiency - an area where Adrian Newey's Red Bull excels.

"He's magic round here," said Team Lotus reserve Karun Chandhok. "His hands are a blur at the wheel.

Chandhok, who was working for BBC Radio 5 Live as an analyst on Thursday, added: "Fernando is a real street fighter on the ultimate street circuit on the calendar. He is a master of controlled aggression behind the wheel."

Alonso was not able to take part in qualifying in Monaco last year after a heavy crash during practice but he still managed to cross the line in sixth despite starting in the pit lane.

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"I'm confident with the car," Alonso told BBC Sport.

"I'm happy to push and I'm pushing more and more every lap with no big surprises from the car.

"Monaco is about confidence in the car and having a good set-up which enables you to brake later, to go into the corners quicker and to go closer to the wall with no big risk. At the moment the car is offering me that possibility so I'm happy."

The Spaniard did, however, admit that he was expecting a fight back from Red Bull over the weekend.

"It's only Thursday and we know that on Saturday the pressure will increase," he said.

"Red Bull always test different things on Fridays and then on Saturday they are very strong so I expect them to be competitive in qualifying. This is a very unique venue so anything can happen here."

Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa also looked lively around Monaco, although the Brazilian's enthusiasm led to several scary moments as he almost sailed his Ferrari into the barriers at the Swimming Pool section and the final corner.

Massa, who lives in the principality, finished 0.6secs behind Alonso in sixth place.

There were no major changes to the McLaren cars that Hamilton and Button raced to second and third last time out in Barcelona.

Hamilton and Button both claimed victory in Monte Carlo in their championship-winning seasons and were bullish about their chances of returning to the top step of the podium on Sunday.

It was Hamilton who led the fight, setting the best overall time in the first and third sectors of the circuit to finish the day as Alonso's closest challenger. Button was 0.325secs slower than the leading Ferrari.

Hamilton said: "It is fantastic, I love this track. I've just been so excited all day.

Racing at Monaco's as good as it gets - Hamilton

"I kept it out of trouble and I'm happy with the balance of the car and our high-fuel run. It is going to be close, though, as the Red Bull is fast and the Ferrari looks fast too. But I'm pushing and pushing, I want to win this grand prix."

Vettel had set the fastest time in the morning, bettering Alonso by 0.113secs, but finished the later session fifth fastest.

The world champion is targeting his first win in Monaco but often chooses not to show his hand until qualifying and he appeared to spend much of second practice focusing on longer runs on the track.

Webber took a pole-to-flag win in Monaco last season but his running was hampered by an electrical issue with his gearbox and only intermittent use of his power-boost Kers system.

The Australian, who snatched pole from Vettel in Barcelona, was cut adrift from the leading contenders and a worrying 1.5secs off the pace.

Mercedes underlined their ability over one lap with Rosberg third fastest and Schumacher, who took his car sideways into the tyre wall at St Devote in first practice, a second shy of Vettel's benchmark.

The question for the German team will be whether they can produce consistent pace in qualifying and then over 78 racing laps.

"We have a real fight on for pole as Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all look very competitive as does Nico Rosberg's Mercedes," added Chandhok.

"The emphasis this weekend has suddenly gone back towards qualifying and we could see six guys fighting it out for pole position."

It was a busy day throughout the field around Monte Carlo's winding streets and bunching traffic led to rising frustrations and mistakes, particularly at the first corner.

Adrian Sutil was even told by his Force India's team radio to "hold it together" as he vented his frustration.

His Scottish team-mate Paul di Resta had to retire from the session with a gear selection problem after setting the 15th fastest time.

The drivers had another problem to literally get to grips with as Pirelli threw another curveball into the mix by introducing the 'supersoft' tyres for the first time this season, with the softs acting as the more resilient 'prime' tyres.

There was generally a positive reaction to the supersofts but Alonso said it was too early to judge whether they would undermine Pirelli's hopes for just a two-stop race by degrading quickly.

Highlights - Monaco GP first practice

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Mark Webber leads second practice Malaysian Grand Prix

Mark Webber saw his practice advantage dramatically slashed in the second session for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but still emerged as top dog.

Webber finished a staggering 1.6secs clear of Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren after the first 90-minute run at the Sepang circuit, with every other rival over two seconds off the pace of the Red Bull.

The obvious conclusion was that for the majority of the field the first session was about set up and understanding the tyres in light of the heat and humidity Pirelli had yet to experience on their return to Formula One.

Come the conclusion to the second run, with the track temperature peaking at a scorching 47C and with an air temperature of 32C, Webber again topped the timesheet, but only by 0.005secs.

Webber is naturally keen to put the disappointment of the season-opening race in Australia 12 days ago behind him when he found himself in the shadow of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Whilst practice generally only offers a guideline as to the weekend to come, it is fair to assume Red Bull and McLaren will likely be fighting over the podium places come Sunday.

Reigning champion Vettel, after his dominant display at Melbourne’s Albert Park, finished fourth, 0.214secs behind Webber.

Sandwiched in between the duo were McLaren pair Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, the latter 0.134secs adrift of Webber.

As for the rest of the field, they were staring at a yawning gap of over a second to Webber, with Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher in fifth and Felipe Massa in his Ferrari sixth, the former team-mates at the Maranello marque separated by just a thousandth of a second.

A further gap of 0.4secs followed to Schumacher’s team-mate Nico Rosberg, with fellow German Nick Heidfeld a respectable eighth in light of what unfolded for Renault in the earlier session.

After an investigation by the team, after Heidfeld and team-mate Vitaly Petrov both suffered failures that saw them lose their front-right and front-left tyres respectively, the cause was found to be an issue with the suspension uprights.

Both cars were delayed before they took to the track for the second session as the team exercised every precaution, and thankfully both emerged unscathed.

Petrov, following his third place in Australia, finished in 13th and 2.3secs off Webber.
In between the Renault duo were Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in ninth and the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari in 10th.

The Williams duo of Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello were 11th and 12th, the former after a crash into an advertising hoarding for one of the team’s former sponsors.

The rookie Venezuelan strangely lost control of his car on the entry road to the pit lane, but after minor repairs was able to return to the track.

Paul di Resta, who claimed a point on his rookie debut Down Under, again frustratingly for the Scot sat out the first session in favour of reserve Nico Hulkenberg.

But Di Resta at least finished the second session quicker than both Hulkenberg and team-mate Adrian Sutil, although 2.7secs off Webber.

After a suspension failure in first practice that pitched Virgin’s Jerome D’Ambrosio into the gravel at high speed, the Belgian was unable to take part later on as the team failed to complete their repairs in time.

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Lewis Hamilton: Jenson Button leads Formula One title race after taking 'easy route'

Lewis Hamilton insists his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button leads the driver's standings because he has made life easier for himself. However, the 25 year-old is confident that the tables will soon turn and says he is proud of the way he has stayed in touch with his team-mate despite various qualifying setbacks and team errors.

Button led home a McLaren one-two at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, making what turned out to be an inspired decision not to pit early when others, including Hamilton, switched their dry tyres for intermediates.

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It was the second time in a month, following the Australian Grand Prix three weeks ago, that Button, 30, had stolen a march on his younger compatriot.

Nevertheless, Hamilton, 25, feels he has raced superbly in the four races so far this year – making 32 overtaking manoeuvres, 12 of them in China alone, to Button's seven – and has only been let down by his qualifying pace and team mistakes.

"I feel I have had great races but Jenson has taken the right decisions and taken the easier route," Hamilton said. "I have had the harder route and got good results but hopefully soon I will take the easier route and it will be a lot easier."

Of course, Hamilton was not suggesting that his McLaren team-mate has had it easy – clearly if it was so straightforward everyone would have made the same race-winning tyre calls – merely that he has not yet enjoyed the rub of the green.

Nevertheless, he finds himself just 11 points behind Button going into the European season and says everything between them is going swimmingly.

"The good thing with me and Jenson is that we clearly want to beat each other but Jenson is very smart and does not have that too aggressive flair in him and neither have I," Hamilton said.

"I'm not surprised he has settled so quickly. There was a lot of stuff about him joining my team and I would be favoured ... the team just embrace the drivers, they want us both to win.

"They did absolutely everything to get him up to speed and feel comfortable. They did the same for me in 2007.

"I am really happy for him. He did a better job and I am sure that when the tables turn, as they will, it will the same for me."

Neither Hamilton nor Button is being beset by the travel problems afflicting the 1,000-plus members of the F1 travelling circus in Shanghai.

As desperate mechanics, chefs, engineers and journalists tried to plot a route home on Monday after travel plans were compromised by the Icelandic dust clouds, Hamilton jetted to South Africa for a sponsorship trip accompanied by his mother, with whom he is then going on safari, while Button flew to Thailand for a holiday with his girlfriend.

"It's the best time of my life, so far. You can write that as big as you want," said Button, who paid tribute to his team-mate.

"I think we're both dong a fantastic job. It's good to have a team-mate who's so competitive. The guy will never give up. He's like a pitbull."

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