Max Verstappen shines as Lewis Hamilton goes fastest

Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen shone on his first outing at the Monaco Grand Prix as he went second fastest during first practice on Thursday.

The 17-year-old rookie has taken his time to settle in Formula One this season, but his performance in Monte Carlo provided everyone with a reminder of the potential he has.

Once again championship leader Lewis Hamilton was the fastest around the iconic street circuit, the Mercedes driver celebrating his new three-year contract with a one minute 18.750 seconds lap to top the timesheets.

Team-mate Nico Rosberg has tended to be right behind this season, but he was well off the pace on Thursday after clipping a barrier midway through the session.

Rosberg ended up settling for ninth after not returning to the track following the incident, his absence allowing others to charge ahead as conditions dried up.

Verstappen was quick to take advantage, initially moving into third before climbing above Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to seal his best performance in a F1 session.

Sebastian Vettel was prominent throughout the 90-minute session, but had to settle for fourth as the two youngsters raced past him, while Carlos Sainz completed the top five.

There was also some positive news for McLaren as Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button finished just outside the top 10, the latter getting some much-needed laps in after missing the first hour of the day due to system checks.