Lewis Hamilton down in eighth at second Monaco GP practice

Second practice: Top three

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1min 12.720secs
2 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:13.207
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:13.283

Second Practice report

Lewis Hamilton faces a tall order to stop title rival Sebastian Vettel from taking pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix after he finished a distant eighth in second practice.

Hamilton was fastest in the opening session here at the principality earlier on Thursday, but the triple world champion was an alarming one second adrift of Vettel's best effort at the conclusion of the day's second running.

Vettel, who is six points clear of Hamilton heading into the sixth round of this see-saw championship, was dominant all afternoon and posted a lap record of one minute and 12.720 seconds at the Monte Carlo street circuit to finish half a second clear of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen third in the order.

Hamilton's Mercedes team will be left scratching their heads following a below-par display which leaves them with plenty of work to do ahead of qualifying on Saturday and latterly the race. Indeed Valtteri Bottas was only 10th in the order.

There were no such concerns for Hamilton's former team-mate Jenson Button, with the 2009 world champion returning to the McLaren cockpit just five races after he left the sport.

The 37-year-old is back as a one-off replacement for Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who is competing at the Indianapolis 500, and he was provided with his first taste of on-track action of the new season here on Thursday.

The Englishman started the opening session nearly six seconds off the pace as he got used to the wider and more physically demanding nature of this year's car.

But as time ebbed on, Button eased himself up the order, and finished 14th in the opening session before improving to 12th later in the day. His best time was just four hundredths shy of his McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne.

The narrow confines of the Monte Carlo circuit makes it one of the toughest on the Formula One calendar and rookie Lance Stroll was the day's biggest casualty after he crashed into the barriers.

The 18-year-old Canadian lost the rear of his Williams on the exit of Massenet before thudding into the wall and rolling to a stop at the bottom of Casino Square.

Stroll was not injured in the crash, but sustained significant damage to the front of his Williams, and the session was temporarily red-flagged as marshals removed his car and the litter of debris.

Stroll's luck was out, and so, too was Jolyon Palmer's. The British driver is in desperate need of a strong weekend here, but his Renault engine expired in the opening moments of the second session.

Palmer, without a point to his name this season, managed just eight laps and was 18th of the 20 runners.

Williams, meanwhile, led the tributes to the victims of the Manchester terror attack after they ran #Manchester on the front of their cars.

Both Mercedes and McLaren are expected to follow suit later in the week when their stickers arrive in Monaco, while a one-minute silence will be observed by the sport in the moments before Sunday's race.

Second Practice times

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1min 12.720secs
2 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:13.207
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:13.283
4 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.331
5 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.400
6 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:13.486
7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:13.799
8 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:13.873
9 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:13.890
10 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:13.902
11 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:13.946
12 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:13.981
13 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:14.003
14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:14.022
15 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:14.093
16 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:14.474
17 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:14.870
18 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:15.616
19 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.691
20 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.695 

First practice: Top three

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 13.425secs
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:13.621
3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:13.771

First Practice report

Lewis Hamilton edged out championship rival Sebastian Vettel in opening practice for the Monaco Grand Prix as the returning Jenson Button finished 14th.

Hamilton has arrived in Monte Carlo six points adrift of Vettel in the title race after the triple world champion claimed his second victory of the season in Spain a fortnight ago.

And the Briton set out his stall in his quest to win the famous Monaco race in consecutive seasons by ending the session 0.196 seconds clear of Vettel, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third in the order.

But while it was Hamilton who topped the order, all eyes were on his former team-mate Button, with the 2009 world champion returning to the McLaren cockpit just five races after he left the sport.

The 37-year-old is back in the Formula One paddock as a one-off replacement for Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who is competing at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Button, still under contract with McLaren in an ambassadorial role, was provided with his first taste of on-track action this season having declined the opportunity to test after the Bahrain Grand Prix in April.

The Englishman, who won here back in 2009, started the session nearly six seconds off the pace as he got use to the wider and more physically demanding nature of this year's car.

But as time ebbed on, Button eased himself up the order, and finished a respectable 1.5 sec slower than Hamilton's best effort and less than two tenths of a second adrift of Stoffel Vandoorne in the sister McLaren.

Button managed to complete 35 laps, too, with the Honda engine, which has been so unreliable this year, not causing the man from Froome any problems.

Button will return to the McLaren cockpit later on Thursday, before Monaco's traditional "rest day" tomorrow and qualifying on Saturday.

Following the terror attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday night, British team Williams paid their respects with a #Manchester sticker on the front of their cars.

Both Hamilton's Mercedes team, which operates out of Brixworth and Brackley in Northamptonshire as well as Stuttgart, and Woking-based McLaren, will also run the hashtag on their chassis either later this afternoon or from qualifying onwards.

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was fourth in the order on Thursday ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who started on pole position here last year.

Britain's Jolyon Palmer, desperately in need of a strong weekend after a dour start to his campaign, was 17th for Renault, 2.5 sec adrift.

Monaco Grand Prix: First practice times

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 13.425secs
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:13.621
3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:13.771
4 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:13.791
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:13.854
6 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:14.111
7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:14.164
8 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:14.201
9 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:14.333
10 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:14.425
11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:14.617
12 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:14.813
13 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:14.870
14 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:14.954
15 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:15.321,
16 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:15.595
17 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:15.949
18 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.258
19 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault No Time
20 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari No Time