Rosberg quickest

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Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg posted the fastest time in both practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton was second quickest in the afternoon’s second practice run ahead of the Ferrari pair of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
Rosberg clocked a time of 1 minute, 14.759 seconds to finish 0.318 in front of Hamilton and 0.437 faster than Alonso. The times generally were considerably faster than the first session.
Rosberg took pole position in the past two races, and Hamilton topped the grid at the Chinese GP. Mercedes also secured a 1-2 in qualifying two weeks ago in Spain, but faded in the race to ensure neither driver has won so far this season.
Monaco is the hardest track to for overtaking, and a repeat front-row performance in Saturday’s qualifying will set up Mercedes to end that barren run.
Three-time defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel finished 10th in the morning session and ninth in the afternoon.
Romain Grosjean crashed out of the second session after smashing into the barrier at Sainte Devote. He was unharmed and his car was lifted off the track by a crane. The session was briefly halted by a red flag as marshals removed some metal debris from the track.
Hamilton and Alonso both had narrow escapes, going perilously close to hitting barriers.
Alonso won the Spanish GP, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second and Massa third. Finishing ahead of both Red Bulls was a boost for Ferrari, with Vettel coming fourth and teammate Mark Webber fifth.
On Thursday, Webber was fifth quickest in the second run, ahead of Lotus driver Raikkonen.
Rosberg finished ahead of Alonso and Grosjean in the first session.
With bright sunshine and clear blue skies magnifying the picturesque setting, Vettel sat out the early part of practice and took in the splendid view over Monaco’s glistening harbor. He completed only 23 laps to Rosberg’s 31, but Mercedes has been staying out longer in practice because the cars lack have lacked durability during races.
Ferrari’s brief in recent races has been to close the gap on Red Bull in qualifying, because neither Massa nor Alonso has been on pole.
Alonso won in Spain from fifth on the grid, but that is unlikely to be good enough in Monaco. Only two drivers have won from outside of pole in the last 10 years on this track - and they both started from third place.
Red Bull has captured the past three races in Monaco, all from pole. Webber won last year and in 2010, and Vettel took the checkered flag in 2011.
Monaco’s twisting track offers spectators a unique view, but it is one of the hardest to master for drivers and requires more concentration than usual.