FORMULA 1 Live

0' Hamilton fastest overall in the first sector... but is four-tenths slower than the top time at the next split... and does not ultimately improve.

1' Barrichello's morning work finished.

2' The Toyotas in the final two spots, with the BMWs 16th and 17th ahead of Adrian Sutil of Force India. The other Force India, that of Giancarlo Fisichella, is 15th.

3' Nakajima hits 1:18-dead for fifth behind Barrichello, Massa, Hamilton and Raikkonen.

5' Kovalainen, driving in clear air, almost breaks the 1:18 mark as he goes fifth. He could do with a successful weekend in the McLaren.

7' Most cars back out for a last go at a hot lap. Let's see who's got it before afternoon practice.

10' Both Brawns out on track. Button is sixth now.

12' Kubica is describing his BMW as a "disaster". Trulli out on hard tyres, Kovalainen on softs.

15' All 20 are in the pits, tinkering with their cars one last time before a final run-out.

18' Webber's Red Bull has lost power it seems. He sits seventh behind Alonso of Renault and ahead of Button, Kazuki Nakajima, Kovalainen, Vettel and Bourdais.

22' Rubens improves to 1:17.189. Perhaps it is his weekend... of course we shouldn't read too much into this session ahead of Sunday's race. Anyway, Massa with a 1:17.499 to go second ahead of Hamilton.

25' Barrichello goes faster than Hamilton on a 1:17.505, once everyone has made sure there is no oil on the track from Vettel's car. There are 25 minutes to go.

27' Vettel has smoke pouring out of his engine and will coast his RB5 into the pit-lane. No fire, but you could say he's not in 'fine Vettel'. Fettle? No?

30' Massa second quickest, still half a second slower than Hamilton's best.

31' Heidfeld sets a time - hooray! - but it is only good enough for 19th. That is dead last, with BMW team-mate Robert Kubica yet to lay one down.

32' Kovalainen with a slow spin into a small run-off area - somewhat fortunate not to hit a barrier.

35' Kova, Trulli and Sebastien Bourdais the only men on the circuit... joined now by Massa.

37' Most drivers are in the garage, with no change in the top five - Alonso is fifth. Heikki Kovalainen returns.

43' Red Bull star Sebastian Vettel loses it for a moment but avoids any contact while Button clips the barrier at the same point. The BMWs are yet to set a time - and Nick Heidfeld's is in bits in the garage. He is worried about the brakes.

45' Hamilton skids his MP4-24 but avoids the barrier. Rosberg (Williams) has slipped ion behind him in timing terms with Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Barrichello (Brawn).

48' Lewis, who won here a year ago of course and rates Monaco as his favourite circuit, with a quick lap of 1:17.578 in his McLaren to leave the rest seven-tenths behind.

52' Ferrari's Massa below 1:19 now, with Button behind him ahead of Fernando Alonso - and one Lewis Hamilton. The name rings a bell... didn't he win a World Championship or something recently?

56' Button back out in the BGP001 and looking to lay down some flying laps. That spells trouble for the rest of the field - or will Monaco be the race to nullify their advantages?

58' And Felipe Massa lowers that by seven-tenths of a second.

60' Jarno Trulli is hovering around the fastest-time mark but it is Glock who takes over in P1, 1:19.983 the time.

63' A man from Bridgestone explains: "Monaco is all about finding grip: it is a very slippy surface as the rest of the time there are lorries and cars going round, wearing it down and making it very, very smooth. There are also new areas of surface this year."

65' Timo Glock lays down a 1:21.490, only for Buemi to take back over at the top with a 1:21.090.

67' Sebastien Buemi sets the pace with a 1:21.805 in the Toro Rosso.

70' Everyone has been out, Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari the last of them. The track temp at the start was 30 degrees while there is a 1.1m/s wind speed.

74' And he comes into the pits. So much for that.

75' Nick Heidfeld begins the first timed lap of the weekend.

77' Ross Brawn: "We've got new bits too: suspension changes, configurations, chassis modifications - we've not been standing still. It is quite encouraging. We've got a programme for the rest of the season, but we expect some of the other teams to come through now, like Ferrari; Red Bull are the main opposition and I hope the resurgence of other teams takes some points away from them. (As for the furore over team orders), it is completely open and I like to think we can leave it like that for the rest of the season."

80' The boy Button, a resident of Monaco - as is Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello, unless he's moved recently - is taking his Brawn around the streets.

83' The drivers easing round - if you can ever call it that in an F1 car - getting used to the narrow angles and close barriers. No sense in writing the thing off this early.

85' Red Bull principal Christian Horner talks about the double diffuser the team are finally running on their car: "Both cars have got our interpretation of it: the boys last night back in Milton Keynes worked all way through the night - they were drinking a lot of the product!! Everyone who has stuck one on a car so far has seen performance, but it was less simple for us: running a full-rod rear suspension it was more difficult to introduce it. We will see the full benefit in Istanbul and Silverstone rather than here."

88' The session lasts for an hour and a half - and represents one of the main chances the teams have of testing out new parts as well as set-up, what with the in-season testing ban.

90' First free practice is underway at a sunny Monaco.