Hamilton edges Verstappen in opening Monaco practice

Update: 2019-05-23 16:36 GMT

Monaco: Lewis Hamilton topped the times for Mercedes ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Thursday morning's opening free practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix.

In a sombre atmosphere following the death of three-time champion Niki Lauda, the championship leader and defending five-time champion clocked a fastest lap of the famous Mediterranean street circuit in one minute and 12.106 seconds to outpace the Dutchman by 0.059 seconds.

Hamilton's Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third, only 0.072 seconds adrift of the Englishman, ahead of Monegasque Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull.

The two Ferraris were three-tenths and seven-tenths slower than Hamilton respectively. It was the first time a Mercedes car had led a Monaco session since 2017. 

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