Welcome to coverage of first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, the jewel in the Formula One season.

Join us again at 1pm UK time for the second session on the south coast. To the Eurosport yacht...

The top order does not change and the drivers will practice their starts.

The chequered flag is out. Most of the field out there to set one more time.

Grosjean up to third late in the session, splitting the Ferraris. 1m16.380s his time.

Raikkonen is 11th with his 1m17.509s.

Webber stays seventh despite improving.

He returns to the pits with that damaged endplate.

Sutil spins and the back end of the Force India grazes the barriers... he is passed by a couple of cars before getting going again. Phew.

Chilton betters his effort to 1m20.225s but remains bottom.

The noise in the tunnel as the cars tear through it must be defeaning. Probably the iconic image of this race...

Nearly everyone's out on track. @InsideFerrari: "Third and last run for @alo_oficial" - the Spaniard returns to the fray immediately.

That may be Alonso's final lap of the session as he returns to the pits.

Vettel improves by two-tenths to 1m17.380s but stays ninth as Alonso goes P3.

James Frankland brings us his ultimate guide to this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

Webber has a moment at Ste Devote while Hamilton is one of a flurry of drivers to rejoin.

Massa was fastest of anyone in the second sector, but only went third.

Stefano Domenicali tells Sky regarding the Massa-Chilton incident (while laughing): "I saw that, I saw that. That's part of racing."

Massa, currently seventh, begins a timed lap.

Alonso back in the garage.

Button the latest to go straight over the chicane.