Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

The combination of the low-abrasion Monaco track surface and Pirelli tyres that are so hard that the ultra-soft will do the entire race left a slightly topsy-turvy timing sheet on Thursday.

Like Mercedes, Renault, who have looked like slowly establishing themselves at the head of the best-of-the-rest group, were struggling with no grip, while Toro Rosso had their drivers fourth and fifth after a very positive day, and insisted it was not to do with fuel load.

Will an extra day’s homework have given the teams time to solve their problems?

Lewis Hamilton puts in his first representative time as he does a 1:14.065 to leap up to third. He's half a second down on Kimi Raikkonen but is a lap behind the Finn on the ultra-softs. Improvement to come.

Wooah! Dramatic moment for Kimi Raikkonen moments after lowering the benchmark as he loses the rear of his Ferrari at the final corner and has to slam his foot on the brakes to keep the nose out of the wall. Close.

Kimi Raikkonen goes quickest now with a 1:13.568 on ultra-softs.

Image source, Getty Images

Matthew Drakeley: Best/worst excuse has to be Vettels seagull excuse.

Both Mercedes cars are out now and Valtteri Bottas first flying lap sees him go top of the pile, 1.1 seconds clear of the rest courtesy of a 1:14.122.

Lewis Hamilton's first timed lap is much, much more cautious as he does a 1:26.461.

Image source, Getty Images

Fernando Alonso will be just waking up in Indianapolis right about now and may have a smile on his face when he hears this news, knowing that he doesn't have to deal with it.

Jenson Button will definitely start last tomorrow after being hit with a 15-place grid penalty because of power unit changes.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking of Jolyon Palmer, he sat down with Jack Nicholls on Friday to talk about racing at the "glamorous" Monaco Grand Prix and supporting both Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace - having been a bad luck charm for the latter.

You can watch the interview below...

Couple of early times flashing up on the screen with Jolyon Palmer setting the early pace with a 1:16.075. He's on ultra-softs.

Monaco, you are looking lovely today.

Image source, .

Douglas L Groves: My favourite excuse has to be David Coulthard at Adelaide in 1995. "The engine idle strategy drove me into the pit wall."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

Ferrari are right there at the front as expected, but Red Bull were also in the ballpark on Thursday, the impression growing that this season is mirroring last year, when the former champions started slowly but came on strong from this sort of time. Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest, albeit nearly 0.4 seconds off Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari, and optimistic of what was to come over the weekend.

“If we all get it together on Saturday, it should be a three-way fight,” the Australian said. “There's a few little things that I definitely want to work on, but generally we are in that window where we need to be and not a second off or anything, so that's promising.”

Team-mate Max Verstappen looked on the verge of a big accident - and did damage the floor in the first session, and miss the second Swimming Pool chicane in the second. But he, too, was confident of a decent weekend.

One hour of final practice is under way and the track gets busy pretty quickly. I'm counting eight cars out there, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen among them.

Image source, Getty Images

Thursday, of course, also marked the return of Jenson Button.

He's behind the wheel of the McLaren for this weekend and this weekend only while Fernando Alonso attempts to win Indy 500.

He had a solid day, finishing 12th quickest, and also provided some amusing over-the-radio moments - accidentally pressing the wrong button and complaining about drivers getting in the way were the highlights.

It's sunnypublished at 09:57 British Summer Time 27 May 2017

09:57 BST 27 May 2017

It's a beautiful day in Monaco, not a cloud in the sky and that's pretty much how it is going to remain for the rest of the weekend.

Image source, .

Audio commentary is live and online only for final practice. Listen via this page right now.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

It is fair to say that it was not entirely unexpected to see that the first person to have a big crash this weekend was Williams driver Lance Stroll. The 18-year-old Canadian had the classic Massenet crash - a bit wide on entry, the camber of the road pulling him inexorably into the barrier, which wiped off his left-hand wheels. What was more unexpected was his reaction, in which he likened his first experience of Monaco to playing a computer game.

Team-mate Felipe Massa played it down, pointing out that Stroll had been reasonably quick (about 0.4secs off the Brazilian) and saying: “First time in Monaco, man, these things happen. He just hit the guard rail. Many people crash here in their first time: ‘Welcome to Monaco’ are maybe the right words to use.”

As excuses go, that's up there with the very best - or worst.

What's the best/worst excuses you've ever heard in Formula 1? Can you top Lance Stroll's excuse for a mistake in your job?

Let us know via #bbcf1, text in on 81111 (UK only)

Lance Stroll provided the other talking point on Thursday as he crashed. Again.

The reason he crashed this time? Because of a computer game.

"I’m going to look at the little areas that I need to improve on for Saturday – corner eight [Portier] and the last corner are the two places I really need to improve on," he said., external

'It really annoys me because every time I play the PlayStation game, it’s always those corners that I couldn’t get right, and in reality it’s still those two corners!'