Monaco FP2: Ricciardo and Red Bull too good on day one

Drivers had predicted before the session started that lap records would tumble thanks to the new hypersoft tyres which are making their competitive debut this weekend and track resurfacing.

Ricciardo was the only driver to dip below the 72 seconds mark with a best lap time of 1:11,841 - an outright lap record around the sport's most iconic venue - which was a tenth up on Verstappen's effort in the 90-minutes afternoon session. The team's first FP1 and FP2 lockout this season.

Ricciardo's time compared to Kimi Raikkonen’s 2017 pole position of 1:12.178 for Ferrari, the previous fastest around the Mediterranean principality’s unforgiving streets and harbourside.

Half a second down on Ricciardo's top time was Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel in third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, their teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Botas were fifth and sixth respectively - a mere two-tenths of a second separating the quartet.

Best of the rest was Nico Hulkenberg albeit 1.2 seconds down on the top pace, but good enough for seventh in his Renault with Carlos Sainz tenth a tenth and a bit adrift of his teammate.

McLaren appear to have found some handy pace after a troublesome morning, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso eighth and ninth respectively

Neither of the Haas drivers found the sweet spot with Kevin Magnussen down in 16th and Romain Grosjean's best only good for 18th.

Down the order, it was a good day for the rookies as both Charles Leclerc (Sauber) and Sergey Sirotkin (Williams) who, on their first Formula 1 day at Monte-Carlo, outperformed their more experienced teammates.

The session was cut short about fifteen minutes early on when the red flag was deployed after a manhole cover worked loose and needed to be fixed.

Father and son world champions Nico and Keke Rosberg, both retired, entertained the crowd between the sessions by lapping the circuit in their title-winning cars.