Thursday marked the first time Jean-Éric Vergne had navigated the Monte Carlo street circuit at the wheel of an F1 car. The Toro Rosso is one of three French drivers in the current field, with Olivier Panis having been the last Frenchman to win the race in 1996.
“This was my first time here in a Formula 1 car and I really enjoyed myself,” said Vergne, who ended his day 17th quickest in the rain-affected second session. “Because I did not go particularly well around Monaco in the World Series last year, I was a bit apprehensive about today, although still looking forward to a new experience and not knowing what to expect.
“I think my performance today compared quite well to my team-mate, as Daniel (Ricciardo) won the last two World Series races he drove at this circuit and he had also had some practice time in the F1 car last year. From that perspective, I am quite happy and I feel the lap time was not important, especially as I had a bit of traffic and I finished my fastest lap in the pit lane.
“I am relatively pleased with the balance of the car which we can fine tune a bit further, but I still need a bit more time to adapt myself to this circuit, even if I liked driving it when it was wet. I feel prepared for whatever weather conditions we might encounter for the rest of the weekend.”
Team-mate Ricciardo notched up the most laps in Practice 2, with 26 in total.
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Jean-Eric Vergne
Teams
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Other
DTM Tickets (best price guarantee!) at Sportstadium.com
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Button | McLaren | 01:15.746 | 15 |
| 2. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:16.138 | 18 |
| 3. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:16.602 | 20 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:16.661 | 22 |
| 5. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 01:16.820 | 19 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:17.021 | 14 |
| 7. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:17.148 | 22 |
| 8. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 01:17.153 | 21 |
| 9. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:17.293 | 11 |
| 10. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:17.303 | 20 |
| Full results | ||||
| Jean-Eric Vergne | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Jean-Eric Vergne photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
