FP2: Mercede leaves competition bite the dust

F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuit

While first practice at Monaco still saw a very close competition at the front, the second session was a Mercedes affair as both Hamilton and Bottas pulled clear of the competition.

Second practice became a disillusion for those who hoped that the race could turn the championship upside down. One cannot deny that everything is possible in a lengthy race around the streets of Monaco, but it certainly does not look like Mercedes will be an easy prey this weekend.

Yet again, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were closely matched, but behind them was a 7 tenths gap to Sebastian Vettel who emerged as the "closest" competitor.

Max Verstappen, who was very much on the same pace as Mercedes in first practice dropped down, behind his team mate, into 6th fastest, nearly a full second slower than Lewis Hamilton.

Albon and Magnussen represented Toro Rosso and Haas in the better half of the pack while Alfa Romeo must have been pleased having both their drivers firmly in the midfield, with Giovinazzi and Raikkonen 8th and 9th respectively.

Carlos Sainz managed to recover somewhat from his FP1 misfortune to go 13th fastest, up from 20th. Nico Hulkenberg made the reverse move, unable to repeat his FP1 performance by ending up 16th, very close to team mate Daniel Ricciardo to put Renault in another difficult situation.