Button matches Vandoorne's pace before overaking Hamilton on track; Mercedes blame slump on set-up change
Monday 29 May 2017 08:31, UK
Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel led the way in Monaco GP practice as Mercedes' speed went missing and Lewis Hamilton was only eighth quickest.
Hamilton, victorious in the Spanish GP two weeks ago, ended the session 1.1 seconds behind Vettel on ultrasoft tyres.
Mercedes have blamed the slump on a set-up change made between Thursday's two practice outings.
Although Hamilton had been quickest in Practice One, the Mercedes driver was also nearly a second slower than his title rival when both teams ran the supersoft tyres at the start of Practice One.
Vettel's benchmark lap of 1:12.720 is the fastest ever recorded at Monaco.
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The Mercedes W08 car is longer than its Ferrari rival and the design feature appeared to saddle the world champions with a critical disadvantage around the legendary tight and twisty street circuit.
"We took a wrong junction in setting up the car what we thought would be good," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
"We committed to the set-up as it takes longer than a session to change and we decided to push through and collect data. There was a lack of grip and we went out of the window everywhere."
Daniel Ricciardo, so impressive at Monaco 12 months ago, was second fastest for Red Bull but still half a second behind Vettel. Team-mate Max Verstappen had what he described as "a messy session" and was sixth.
Toro Rosso emerged as the surprise package of the weekend with both Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz in the top five around a circuit which doesn't highlight the relative weakness of their Renault engine.
Jenson Button was an impressive 12th for McLaren, all-but matching Stoffel Vandoorne on his return to F1. Button is making a one-off return as a stand-in for Fernando Alonso while the Spaniard competes at the Indianapolis 500.
Button's return even included a cheeky overtake on Hamilton out of the tunnel in the final minutes.
But there was yet more misery for the unfortunate Jolyon Palmer as the Renault driver's wretched season continued to lurch from bad to worse due to an engine blow-out.
The session was also briefly interrupted with half an hour to go when Williams rookie Lance Stroll crashed out.
Monaco GP Practice Two Timesheet
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:12.720
2. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, +0.487
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +0.563
4. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, +0.611
5. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +0.680
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +0.766
7. Sergio Perez, Force India, +1.079
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +1.153
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +1.170
10. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, +1.182
11. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren-Honda, +1.226
12. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, +1.261
13. Felipe Massa, Williams, +1.283
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, +1.302
15. Esteban Ocon, Force India, +1.373
16. Lance Stroll, Williams, +1.754
17. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, +2.150
18. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, +2.896
19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, +2.971
20. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, +2.975
* All times set on the ultrasoft tyre
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