Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Charles Leclerc out of reach on soft tires
Charles Leclerc was much faster than the rest of the drivers in the second Free Practice session in Monaco. He was followed by Lewis Hamilton, who was fastest in FP1, and Fernando Alonso.
And here we go back on track for the second Free Practice session of Friday. Let’s remember that Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri set the fastest times in Free Practice 1 earlier in the day. Lewis Hamilton is the first in line at the pit lane but eases off on his first lap. There is traffic for the start of FP2. Charles Leclerc also lets the Red Bulls pass before starting.
Hamilton is the fastest in the first sector, Magnussen in the second, and Verstappen in the third. Hamilton sets the best time at 1:14.080, on medium tires, at the beginning of the session. The Dutch driver is also on medium tires and performs very well in the second sector. He is three tenths ahead of the seven-time world champion. Leclerc then takes the lead, setting the fastest time at 1:13.404, which must delight the Monegasque fans. Lewis Hamilton still seems to be in great shape for this second session and places himself 0.095 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Then Max Verstappen sets a time of 1:13.265 seconds, showing his potential for the first time this weekend.
But Leclerc does not consider himself defeated, takes the second fastest sector after George Russell took the first, and positions himself in front of everyone, with 8 tenths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen. A big leap forward ten minutes after the start of FP1.
During this time, Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant kissed the rails, followed by Lando Norris. Williams calls the American to the pit to check his suspension. Carlos Sainz, finally out on track after everyone else, is lagging far behind his teammate. An incident is noted between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen for impeding at turn 19. Meanwhile, George Russell is complaining of strong vibrations when braking at turn 11.
The drivers switch to soft tires.
Leclerc then manages to set the best time, in 1:17.573, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen. Drivers start to come into the pits to change tires for the softs and most likely carry out qualifying simulation runs. This is the case for Alex Albon, for example, who moves up from 14th to 2nd place thanks to these tires. Sergio Perez also goes out on softs and sets the 2nd fastest time, 0.763 seconds behind Leclerc (who had achieved this time on medium tires). Meanwhile, they are working hard in the garage on George Russell’s Mercedes, 9th and far behind his teammate.
Verstappen and Leclerc are also starting on soft tires. The Monegasque is the fastest in all three sectors and improves his time, quickly reaching 1:11.278, five tenths ahead of Verstappen’s new time. On his side, Sergio Perez complains about his visibility due to the ride height, it seems. « There are times when I can’t see the racing line on the right,” he says on the radio.
We then follow Lance Stroll, who is in 4th place behind his teammate Fernando Alonso. At the same time, Oscar Piastri brushes against the wall, followed later by the Dutch driver, who will return to the pit. It is up to Lando Norris to do his fast lap on soft tires, but he fails to catch Leclerc, who is third behind Verstappen. Before Alonso takes the second position, 0.475 seconds behind the Monegasque, unexpectedly. The gap between the top two drivers, however, remains significant.
Fernando Alonso annoyed
Charles Leclerc is back on a quick lap and increases the pace even more in the first sector… But is hindered by Lance Stroll, slides and backs off. On his side, Alonso complains about the pace of Carlos Sainz, very slow in front of him. « What is Sainz doing, trying to create a gap of 3 minutes? We are in Monaco! » exclaims the Spaniard. It’s Hamilton’s turn to step on the gas on soft tires, he places himself at 0.188 second from Leclerc, it’s a very good time. We then witness a nice blocking by Lando Norris at the exit of the tunnel, which damages his soft tires in the process. He returns to the pit.
We’re entering the last fifteen minutes and an incident is reported between Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen, with no further consequences, while Lance Stroll hits the barrier again. Towards the end of the session, some drivers head out on medium tires to try long runs. And that’s where we’ll leave it until the end of Free Practice in Monaco, with Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso being the top three fastest in FP2.
