The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has completed the first day of free practice sessions at the Circuit de Monaco ahead of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. It was the first time for Monegasque rookie, Charles Leclerc, to experience the streets of his hometown in the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. It was a productive day for Marcus Ericsson as well. Both drivers worked in preparation for the race on the city circuit of Monaco where the track layout is particularly challenging for the team; despite the track demands with high levels of downforce, they are optimistic for tomorrow's sessions, with the gaps between all competitors being very close.

Marcus Ericsson: "It has been quite a good day. It is important to get in a lot of laps on Thursday in Monaco, so that is a positive for us. We struggled a bit of the hypersoft tyres, but apart from that it was a smooth day. We built up the speed and have a good base to work from for Saturday and Sunday. I look forward to the rest of the weekend."

Charles Leclerc: "It was a productive day for us. It ran quite smoothly overall. We know that this track is going to be a challenge for us, and we have used today's practice sessions to start setting up our car in the best possible way. We will now look at our data and start working on preparations for tomorrow's qualifying session. I look forward to being back in the car."

Check out our Thursday gallery from Monaco, here.