Ricciardo's horror season continues at Monaco GP

McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo's struggles continued during the opening day of practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, with the Australian well off the pace.

Ricciardo could only manage the 15th best time in the both the morning and afternoon sessions, more than 1.5 seconds off the pace, and nearly a second slower than teammate Lando Norris.

It continues a difficult start to his McLaren career, with the 31-year-old struggling to adapt his driving style to the car's characteristics.

"I felt that I had confidence, it was just not translating to lap time," Ricciardo said.

"From behind the wheel it was quite frustrating because I would cross the line and think it had been a decent lap, and it was like you are P12 or P15, and even at one stage P17.

"So frustrating because it is a long way off. There is a lot of time to find. Luckily we have tomorrow off, but right now it is like, yeah, trying to figure out where all the time is."

Daniel Ricciardo on the opening day of practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Ricciardo had one fast lap spoiled by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, an altogether common occurrence around the tight streets of the principality.

"I don't know what the f— the Ferrari's doing," he said on team radio.

Ricciardo was also seen giving the finger to his former Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who set the pace in the afternoon, with Leclerc fastest by just over a tenth of a second.

"It's nice to see at least that we are closer to the front, that we're actually playing around there at the front," Sainz said.

"We definitely look very close to being a genuine threat. (But) I think we need to wait until third practice, because things change a lot here."

Championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were forced to settle for third and fourth, respectively.

"The Ferraris look really strong, surprising to see them improving so much but that's great," Hamilton said. "It means more competition. We've got some work to do."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc during opening practice in Monaco.

Verstappen, who trails Hamilton by 14 points in the title race, said there was plenty of work to be done before qualifying on Saturday.

"We were too slow and we really need to find some pace," he said. "I usually feel quite comfortable in the car but that has not come yet."

Former world champion Sebastian Vettel had a disconcerting moment, with his left eye giving him trouble.

"It wasn't bleeding, but I said (on team radio) either I'm emotional, or something else is going on because it was just tears and tears," Vettel said. "I was blinking the whole lap. Not ideal on a track like this."

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