FP2: Leclerc dominates second practice in Monaco

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuitmc

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc displayed an eye-watering performance in the second practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton finishing second for Mercedes in the Principality. F1Technical's senior writer Balázs Szabó reports on Free Practice 2.

Having run over a debris that flew off Zhou Guanyu's Kick Sauber, Charles Leclerc was unable to display his true potential in the opening practice session. However, the Monegasque put it together in the second one-hour practice to dominate the session with a benchmark time of 1m11.278.

With a late push lap, Lewis Hamilton appeared to be quick once again following his strong showing in the first practice. The Briton finished FP2 in second spot while his team-mate George Russell could not get himself higher up than tenth.

Fernando Alonso continued to impress with a P3, beating the reigning champion Max Verstappen and the Miami race winner Lando Norris. The Dutchman complained about severe bouncing during the session, and he went as far as to claim that he got headaches from the huge bumps.

Ferrari's Spaniard Carlos Sainz clearly did not enjoy his first day behind the wheel of the SF-24 as he was unable to match the eye-catching lap times of Leclerc. The Madrid-born ended up sixth, almost seven tenths of a second off Leclerc's benchmark time.

Oscar Piastri excelled in Imola just a few days ago, but he only finished in P12 in Free Practice 2 in Monaco. However, he does not need to panic as his runs were restricted to the hard and the medium compounds, indicating that there is much more to come from the Australian.

Alpine had a much more encouraging session after their woes in the opening session. Esteban Ocon took 14th while his team-mate Pierre Gasly finished three placed further down the order.

The Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu brought up the rear of the field with both drivers struggling for outright pace on the narrow streets of the Principality.


Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
116Charles LeclercFerrari1:11.27836
244Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:11.466+0.188s31
314Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:11.753+0.475s36
41Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda Rbpt1:11.813+0.535s36
54Lando NorrisMclaren Mercedes1:11.953+0.675s34
655Carlos SainzFerrari1:11.962+0.684s35
718Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:12.062+0.784s22
811Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing Honda Rbpt1:12.099+0.821s30
923Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes1:12.257+0.979s37
1063George RussellMercedes1:12.260+0.982s29
1122Yuki TsunodaRb Honda Rbpt1:12.349+1.071s35
1281Oscar PiastriMclaren Mercedes1:12.366+1.088s34
1320Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:12.473+1.195s30
1431Esteban OconAlpine Renault1:12.554+1.276s33
1527Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari1:12.569+1.291s33
163Daniel RicciardoRb Honda Rbpt1:12.577+1.299s36
1710Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault1:12.750+1.472s34
182Logan SargeantWilliams Mercedes1:12.790+1.512s35
1977Valtteri BottasKick Sauber Ferrari1:13.057+1.779s30
2024Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber Ferrari1:13.773+2.495s31