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Lewis Hamilton was third in opening practice at the Monaco Grand Prix which ended early after Alex Albon crashed out. Hamilton, armed with a major Mercedes upgrade, finished the first running in Monte Carlo behind only Carlos Sainz, who topped the order for Ferrari, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Hamilton was ahead of both Red Bulls – with Sergio Perez fourth and world champion Max Verstappen, who complained on multiple occasions about the handling of his Red Bull, sixth. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc split the Red Bull pair. The red flags were deployed in the closing minutes when Albon lost control of his Williams through the opening Sainte Devote corner. The London-born Thai slammed into the wall, but, despite admitting to banging his knees, he emerged relatively unscathed from the 100mph accident. The same could however, not be said for Albon’s Williams following significant damage to the left-hand side of his machine. After giving up on this season’s car on the eve of the opening race, Mercedes have arrived for the sixth round of the season in the sun-cooked principality with a new concept. The Silver Arrows have abandoned their controversial zero-sidepod design, and introduced a new front suspension, new floor and cooling system in a change of development on a car which has contributed to the longest losing streak of Hamilton’s career. On Sunday, it will be 539 days since Hamilton last stood on the top step of the podium at the penultimate round of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia. And although Hamilton ended the opening running 0.663 sec behind Sainz, the seven-time world champion and his Mercedes team might take confidence from finishing ahead of both Red Bull drivers. Verstappen and team-mate Perez are the only men to have won a race this year, but their rapid Red Bull is not necessarily suited to the narrow and slow-speed confines of the unique Monte Carlo configuration. Sainz lapped a third of a second quicker than Alonso, with Verstappen 0.872 sec off the pace. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell was only 15th, 1.6 sec back. Elsewhere, Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren as Nico Hulkenberg completed the fewest laps after he spun his Haas at the chicane on the exit of the tunnel. Second practice gets under way at 1700 local time (1600 UK). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton: Racist abuse of Vinicius Junior really hits home for me Bernie Ecclestone would be surprised if Lewis Hamilton wanted to leave Mercedes Lewis Hamilton insists right decision is made as Emilia Romagna GP cancelled

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Lewis Hamilton apologised to Oscar Piastri after he admitted he was “totally at fault” for his collision with the McLaren rookie in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for the coming together at the Variante della Roggia as the two drivers duelled for eighth on lap 41 of 51 in Monza. Hamilton improved to sixth and was able to pull out a seven-second margin on Williams’ Alex Albon to ensure the sanction had no impact on his result. However, Piastri, 22, suffered front-wing damage and was forced to stop for repairs, dropping him out of the points. “He just turned across me under braking,” said Piastri on the radio. Hamilton, who was also hit with two penalty points on his driver’s licence, doubling his total to four, went over to Piastri to concede his error at the chequered flag. “It was totally my fault,” said Hamilton, 38. “It actually wasn’t intentional. I went and apologised to him straight afterwards. “I got up alongside him and just misjudged the gap I had to the right and clipped him. It could happen at any time. “I knew shortly afterwards it must have been my fault and I wanted to make sure he knew it wasn’t intentional. That’s what gentleman do.” Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had no complaints with the stewards’ verdict and praised his superstar driver for taking accountability. “That was Lewis’ mistake,” said Wolff. “I think a five-second penalty for that is what the menu says. These things happen, you know. It’s hard racing and we’ve seen a few of these. It’s justifiable. “Lewis is very sportsmanlike on these things. And he is the only one that I see out there admitting things that he did wrong. “We just had a chat and he said ‘I didn’t see him on the right and that is on me.’ And I think that kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him. Pretty much everyone else is complaining and moaning to try to avoid getting a penalty.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen’s 10 wins in a row ‘irrelevant’ says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix

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