Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton could match his Ayrton Senna's tally of 65 pole positions on Saturday.

The Briton has been rapidly closing on the Brazilian legend in recent years, scoring exactly half of his current total since the start of 2014, including the last race Spain.

Though he has always been known as a strong single lap driver, even Hamilton admitted it was incredible to consider himself alongside his hero.

"I'm one away from matching Senna’s qualifying record, which just doesn't seem real," Hamilton said, "I feel very honoured to be up and amongst the greats.

"I don't really feel like there is any pressure. If it happens this weekend, it happens. If it doesn't, it will happen. I will get another pole at some stage.”

One circuit that he has yet to take pole on, however, is Monaco and his chances this year appear slim after the pace shown by Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in practice.

Acknowledging the omission, Hamilton said: "Of course there's an incredible feeling when you feel like you are as close to the edge, that dream-line edge that you're trying to get close to every year. I've never had that here.

"I've had good laps here that have felt very close, but... you can always find millimetres here and there. That's the great thing about this sport. If we hit the perfect lap, then I don't know, what's next beyond perfect?

"I love that there's a constant chase, a constant challenge, the target's always moving, so you might touch it for a split second, but then it shifts and moves somewhere else. That's what I love about it," he added.

Sebastian Vettel set a remarkable pace in second practice, moving half a second clear of the field as Mercedes hit problems in Monaco.

The Ferrari driver lowered the lap record on the street circuit, set by Lewis Hamilton in the morning, with a 1m12.720s on his low fuel qualifying simulation, the only driver under the 1m13 mark.

Daniel Ricciardo put Red Bull in position as the closest challengers to Ferrari in second on as Kimi Raikkonen completed the top three in the second Prancing Horse.

The big surprise on Thursday remained the pace of Toro Rosso as both Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, who only supersoft tyres in the first session, led the first 45 minutes after switching to the ultrasoft, until eventually settling in fourth and fifth respectively.

Max Verstappen had the pace to clear the two fellow Red Bull-backed drivers ahead but hit traffic on his flying laps in the final sector, having to settle for sixth. As Sergio Perez continued his strong start to the weekend in Monte Carlo, taking seventh for Force India.

As mentioned, Mercedes struggled massively for pace throughout the session due to a wrong turn on set-up with both cars. Reaching and maintaining the optimum tyre temperature was the main issue as both drivers had very poor grip in the traction zones, as a result Hamilton was down in eighth with team-mate Valtteri Bottas in 10th.

McLaren had a better session with their two drivers, Stoffel Vandoorne and Jenson Button, setting almost identical lap times in 11^th and 12^th as Felipe Massa dropped to 13th for Williams. It was his team-mate Lance Stroll, however, who caused the first red flag of the weekend, losing control of the car entering Massanet and hitting the barriers on the outside with half an hour to go.

Romain Grosjean was 14^th in the second Haas ahead of fellow countryman Esteban Ocon, who survived an early smack against the Armco at Portier in his Force India.

Renault’s troubles continued as Nico Hulkenberg was only 17^th after his ERS issue in the morning, team-mate Jolyon Palmer would also be struck by poor reliability as the Briton stopped out on track early on with a suspected engine failure.

At the back, the two Sauber’s brought up the field with Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein separated by just four thousandths of a second.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff admits the world champions are at a disadvantage after the error that saw both drivers fall back in Monaco on Thursday.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were only eighth and 10th respectively in the second session, both failing to improve on their times from the morning as changes to the cars had an adverse effect on tyre performance.

“We took a wrong junction in setting up the car that we thought would be good,” the Austrian explained.

“We couldn't back out of it. We committed to the set-up. It takes a couple of hours to undo that, more than a session lasts. We decided to just push through and collect some data.

"The issue was an overall lack of grip, which drivers complained about," he added. "Not just the front but also the rear. It went out of the window everywhere.”

Wolff does expect the return to the previous setup, which allowed Lewis Hamilton to top the timings in the morning, will avoid a Singapore 2015-style scenario allowing Ferrari and Red Bull to capitalise.

“We were pretty competitive in the morning and so we just need to back track it. That's not a very difficult exercise,” Toto said.

"Nevertheless we lost a session where we could have progressed a little bit. We're lacking data.

"Now it's about sticking heads together, staying calm and trying to work as good as possible Saturday morning."

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he finds the challenge of Formula 1's 2017 cars much more enjoyable than those raced in previous years.

The wider, faster cars introduced this season were designed to push drivers physically as well as be driven more aggressively for longer which has been reflected in the races and qualifying so far. 

Certainly, they have produced a style of racing very different from last year when fuel and tyre saving made races much less exciting for the men behind the wheel.  

"I quite like that the cars difficult to drive," Hamilton commented ahead of the most anticipated race yet with the new cars this weekend in Monaco.

"It's like jumping on… like when you watch people get on the bull, jump on the bull, try and tame the bull, it's the same, kind of…

"In this car it's not easy, it's a challenge, those cars I've had in the past which are beautiful to drive [and] a lot easier to set-up, I like that this is a challenge."

The three-time world champion also admits the new rules have allowed the entire team to show their abilities due to the detail they have to go into to optimise performance.

"It puts myself and the engineers on the edge, it makes us feel a lot more meticulous with the decisions we make, the directions we go," the Briton explained.

"I have to work a lot harder to balance the car, which you saw over the radio in the last race.

"But over the year, as we understand it more and more, and understand the tyres more, we'll refine it and the car will get easier to drive for sure.”

Though first practice in Monaco was largely uneventful as the drivers eased into the weekend, Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas is expecting the streets of Monte Carlo to become more perilous as they push harder.

“Yes, the cars are now wider, so that makes the track, in a way, narrower,” he said considering the impact the new cars will have on driving in Monaco. “Some of the corners, especially the medium high-speed corners are going to be quite a lot quicker, so it should be more of a challenge that before.

“Like we’ve seen and all the drivers are commenting, we need to push these cars harder to achieve the limit and maintain the absolute limit of the grip. So it’s going to be definitively more challenging than before.”

Daniel Ricciardo is confident his Red Bull team can be an active part of the battle for victory in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Australian claimed second behind pacesetter Sebastian Vettel on Thursday, albeit half a second slower than his former team-mate.

But that gap didn't seem to bother the usually relaxed 27-year-old, who was simply enjoying the challenge of Monte Carlo.

"For a Thursday here I'm pretty pleased," Daniel said. "Firstly, to drive this track, it's so much fun. I think regardless of how the car feels, it's fun."

Referring back to his form from last year, he added: I feel like we got back in that groove around here. We are looking pretty good at the moment.

“I don’t think we need to do too much to the car set-up wise at the moment, just a couple of small tweaks overnight perhaps.

“Being the first time around here with the new cars it definitely felt a little bit tighter so that needs to be considered when pushing on quick laps, but as I said, so much fun as always.”

The unique characteristics of Monaco have suited Red Bull traditionally, as the emphasis on chassis performance plays to their main strength.

Assessing the potential for the remainder of the weekend, Ricciardo said: "Generally we're there, we're in that window where we need to be. We're not a second off [the pace] or anything, so that's promising.

"I think especially around a street circuit, you're better off driving a car that you know, as opposed to turning it upside down, which can take confidence away from you.

"I think we'll do some little tweaks to the car tonight to prepare for Saturday, but I don't think we need to do too much at the moment.”

Lewis Hamilton claimed the early initiative ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, setting the quickest time in first practice on Thursday.

The Mercedes driver posted a 1m13.425s around halfway into the 90-minute session which went unbeaten until the end as Sebastian Vettel only got within two-tenths in second for Ferrari.

Max Verstappen recovered from a puncture and a broken floor, to claim third in the final 10 minutes. At the same time, the Dutchman indicated Red Bull could very well make it a three-team battle for the win this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas looked quick early on but dropped to fourth by the end with the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo completing an impressive 45 laps in fifth. Also impressive was Toro Rosso as Daniil Kvyat claimed sixth ahead of a Kimi Raikkonen, with Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz in ninth. The pair were also the only drivers in the top 10 not to use the ultra-soft tyres. 

The Italian team will likely face strong competition from Force India, however, as Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon also both made the top 10, in eighth and 10th respectively. In doing so, the Silverstone-based team sent another warning to their midfield rivals as they look to further increase their stranglehold on fourth in the Constructors' championship. 

Williams actually fell down to sixth behind Toro Rosso in those standings after Spain and at a circuit that doesn't usually suit them are looking shaky again with Felipe Massa only 11th and Lance Stroll 16th. The Canadian getting his first experience of Monaco in the process.

The anticipated strong form of McLaren has also failed to materialise for now with Stoffel Vandoorne 12th and Jenson Button easing back in on his return in 14th. The much greyer Haas' of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were 13th and 15th, with the Frenchman the only man to cause yellow flags after going down the escape road at Sainte Devote.

Renault had a miserable start to the weekend with Jolyon Palmer in 17th and Nico Hulkenberg failing to set a time at all as an ERS issue left the German stranded in the garage. Sauber too faced a similar situation with Pascal Wehrlein 18th and Marcus Ericsson unable to take to the circuit after losing fourth gear.

As mentioned, there were no significant incidents as the drivers gradually gain confidence on the famous street circuit. Several drivers, notably the two Ferrari's did rub the inside barrier entering the second Swimming Pool chicane but no damage was done. Chances of that being the case all weekend are rather slim, however.

Jenson Button is confident he has plenty more speed to find as he made his return to a Formula 1 cockpit in Monaco on Thursday.

The Briton, stepping in for Fernando Alonso at McLaren, made a steady start to practice in Monte Carlo and by the end of Practice 2, matched the man who replaced him at the Woking outfit this season, Stoffel Vandoorne.

Speaking about his first experience of the 2017 McLaren, the 2009 champion admitted the increase in cornering ability had been the biggest surprise.

"In FP1, I found my feet pretty quickly, FP2 was a bit trickier because there was so much more grip and it's just very different to what I've experienced for the last seven years," Button said.

"I'm braking for corners and I just feel like I'm going to be in the barriers. It's strange initially, but I'm definitely getting to grips with it.

"High-speed is so much fun, the first part of the Swimming Pool is flat - I can't remember the last time it was flat, it probably hasn't ever been for me,” he added.

"That's great, Turn 3 (Massanet) is a lot of fun as well, but there are braking areas where there's a lot of work still to do, to get the confidence to brake hard.”

The 37-year-old, who hasn't raced competitively since leaving F1 at the end of last season, also admitted some rustiness initially.

"It's the old beginners' thing. You brake early, you lift early, you turn in and accelerate early and you understeer off,” he said.

"There's a lot to come and hopefully I can sort myself out on Saturday morning after I've been through the data.”

Asked how it felt to be back in the car, Button revealed: "I drove through Turn 5 and immediately I had a little giggle to myself that I was driving a Formula 1 car again, after seven months and it was around Monaco.

"Lovely experience, really. But whatever happens this weekend, for most of it, it will be forgotten on Monday.

"The important thing is to enjoy what I do this weekend and that's it. Have fun and make some more memories for myself."

Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey believes the top three teams feel it is necessary to match their rivals' spending if they want to be competitive rather than doing so through desire.

Since becoming the new majority shareholders in the sport earlier this year, the topic of costs and spending has been high on the agenda, with the Formula One Group wanting to create a more level playing field across the F1 grid.

Speaking about the current gulf in budgets between the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes at the front and Sauber, Force India lower down, Carey claimed: "What some of the teams spend on the sport today is an incredible amount and they'll acknowledge it's an incredible amount. To some degree they're saying, 'We need to be protected from ourselves.'

"There are a handful teams that spend an extraordinary amount that aren't really spending to create something that enhances the consumer experience.

"What they're doing is spending because two other guys are spending it, so they've got to do it to compete with the other guys.

"And we want this to be healthier for all the teams, we'd like to be a healthy business for them."

2021 is being targeted as the year Liberty Media can fully implement the style of F1 they want, as the current Concorde Agreement signed with Bernie Ecclestone expires in 2020.

What that does do, however, is give Carey and his new team time to decide where costs can be cut, with talks on a new engine formula recently getting underway.

"We came out of a meeting a few weeks ago on the engines to sort of say, we think we'd like the engine to be simpler, cheaper, louder,” Carey claimed.

"This last generation became more expensive and complex, which is what enabled for a period Mercedes to build a better engine than everybody else.

"We want technology and engineering to be part of the sport, but it shouldn't be a defining part of the sport. You should get an edge, but first and foremost we still want the drivers to be the stars.”

Also a key part of the puzzle is the distribution of revenue between the teams, with historical payments and other clauses giving the top teams a major advantage. However, Carey hinted the type of decisive action many want to solve the inequality in this area would only be part of a broader financial focus.

"Costs and revenues are all inter-related. You have to deal with it in pieces, but you want to start with a focus on the whole,” he explained.

"So it's costs, revenue, rules, engines, which is why our real focus is that we want to make for everybody the business of owning a team a much better business proposition for everybody.

"There are certainly benefits for some of the teams in marketing, branding and other benefits that come out of it, but we think it's good for everybody, including us, to make the economics of owning a team much healthier.

"We're addressing that more holistically at this point."

Sebastian Vettel is still expecting a three-way fight for the win this weekend in Monaco, despite contrasting fortunes during practice on Thursday.

The German was half a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull in the second session, while Mercedes floundered in the lower half of the top 10, dealing with a set-up change that left them struggling with the tyres.

However, Vettel, who is yet to win in Monte Carlo and is driving for a Ferrari team that hasn't won there in 16 years, isn't getting carried away just yet. 

“I don’t know what happened [to Mercedes] today, it was a bit weird,” Sebastian commented. “But I'm pretty sure there was a reason, they will be back to full force on Saturday, so it will be close also with Red Bull around here.

“It’s important to have a good feel for the car to get the lap together so you cannot always go with the one time you set at the end of the day," he claimed, "but surely we managed to put it together, and we’re quite happy.

“I was very happy with the first run in the morning so since then we didn’t have to change that much but we improved the car for the afternoon. The conditions I think were also a bit like they will be on Saturday and Sunday.”

Despite the confidence, the four-time world champion admits there is some work needs to be done on improving race pace.

“I think we still do, and have to do, something to the car to be more competitive overall in the race,” he said. “But I think Kimi and myself we were both quite happy with the long run.”

Jenson Button is positive he will be able to maximise the "great opportunity" he has to participate at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

The 2009 world champion is standing in for former team-mate Fernando Alonso, at a race that will offer McLaren their best chance for points so far this season.

Ahead of his one-off return, however, there has been some questions around both the 37-year-old's commitment and whether he will have a car capable of simply making the finish.

But Button brushed off the concerns saying: “It feels slightly surreal to be back in the cockpit for the Monaco Grand Prix. When the call came from Eric there was no hesitation – it’s a totally unique situation and a great opportunity.

“I’m looking forward to stepping back behind the wheel for one of the most crazy, unpredictable and exciting races of the year.

“Although I haven’t turned a wheel on track yet in the MCL32, I feel well prepared,” he added. “I know the track well, of course, and I’ve done quite a bit of work in the McLaren simulator already.

“I’m still fit, and I’ve been training probably more than ever, because I’ve had the time to focus on my triathlon preparation and competitions. I’m looking forward to working with the team again, and, as I’ll be on the other side of the garage this time around, I’ll do my best to look after the car for Fernando!”

The veteran of 305 Grand Prix starts is also confident the pace shown by Alonso over a single lap in Spain is proof McLaren can start to become more competitive and especially in Monaco.

“It was great to see the performance of Fernando in Barcelona, P7… what a step forward," Jenson declared. "He obviously did a great lap but it shows how much of an improvement the team has made and we have another good step for Monaco.

“I initially didn't like the feel of the car [in the sim] but this was before the updates. We made some set-up changes and it felt much better and suited my style more. With the updates, it is pretty awesome to drive.

“So it's very positive for me it is a great race to come back for, it was my home for 17 years, I have won in Monaco and had some great races in Monaco. It is a race where the car should work well. Hopefully [we can be in the points], if Alonso can put it seventh in Barcelona we should be looking sweet for Monaco.”