Round 8 opens with the first of two free practise session in the cloudy Monaco.
After the first set of attempts Di Grassi leads from Vandoorne and Da Costa. Shortly after, Envision’s Frijns goes on top with a 1:34.98s after almost making contact with the wall, with the Jaguars cycling in P2.
Ten minutes into the session, Evans, the driver with the most podiums in Monaco, leads with a 1:34.70s, improved by his teammate and former championship leader Nick Cassidy.
The first red flag of the day is issued due to debris brought on track by Mahindra’s Mortara with 17 minutes to go into the session. The Swiss driver clipped the wall without too much damage for his car and is ultimately able to rejoin the session.
Evans retook the lead from his teammate with a 1:33.67s and is ahead of the Envision duo of Frijns and Buemi, the only repeat winner in Monaco. The Jaguar driver is also the first to sign a lap in the 1:32s
Another yellow flag is issued after Sam Bird has a moment at Turn1, locking up with his right front tyre and hitting the wall.
Envision’s Dutch driver improves Evans’s previous benchmark to 1:32.49s, with ERT’s Ticktum cycling at the lead as well.
Another yellow flag was issued in the final minute of the session as Oliver Rowland made contact with the wall. After the final set of flying laps are in following the chequered flag, the Jaguar duo of Evans and Cassidy is split by a very consistent Frijns.
The Kiwi and the former ABT driver are the only two drivers to have put in a lap in the 1:30s, with Frijns 0.300s off Evans’s 1:30.41s. Top 5 is round off by the British duo of Jake Hughes and Jake Dennis, with other championship leader Pascal Wehrlein stuck in P14.
Stay tuned for FP2 in a couple of hours!
