Monte Carlo, 24 May

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa (1.16.602) and Fernando Alonso (1.16.661) set the third and fourth fastest times in the second free practice session round the Monaco street circuit – but it was disrupted by rain which appeared shortly after the start of the session.

The two F2012 cars finished just behind the McLaren of Jenson Button, which set the fastest time in 1.15.746 – on Supersoft tyres – and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean (1.16.138). Like the rest of the grid, the Ferrari drivers had to settle for one run on Soft tyres followed by a long pause in the garage because of the rain. That increased in intensity, meaning they both had to rejoin the track on intermediate tyres. There were no long runs for Fernando and Felipe, who finished the session with some practice starts on the grid and will now prepare for tomorrow’s day without any track activity.

The protagonists of this round of the championship will return to the wheel of their cars on Saturday at 11am for the third and final session of free practice, after which comes the all-important date with qualifying.