Charles Leclerc rose to the top of the times in the second free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton continued to demonstrate Mercedes’ progress.
The hometown hero had been fourth in the first practice, without using the softest compound tire available this weekend. In the second segment, the Ferrari driver gradually upped his pace.
He started with a 1 minute 12.372-second lap on mediums, bettering Max Verstappen’s 1 minute 13.265-second effort on hards and moving to P1. Thereafter, the Monegasque consistently improved on the medium compound, dipping under the 1 minute 12-second mark with a 1 minute 11.573-second lap.
Near the halfway point, Verstappen switched to softs but remained around a quarter of a second off Leclerc. After the Ferrari man also put on the softs, he immediately posted a 1 minute 11.278-second lap, lifting the benchmark even higher. Verstappen attempted a response but made contact with the wall exiting Portier in the tunnel, forcing him to abort that lap.
At that stage, Fernando Alonso was the closest to Leclerc, 0.457 seconds adrift, with Verstappen another 0.08 seconds back in third.
In the remaining running, Leclerc focused on long runs, and although his personal best stood, he wasn’t seriously challenged. Hamilton, after switching to softs, improved from a 1 minute 12.530-second effort on mediums to a 1 minute 11.466-second lap, which lifted him ahead of Alonso on the timesheet, albeit still 0.188 seconds behind the Ferrari driver, demoting Verstappen to fourth.
Lando Norris was the highest-placed McLaren, albeit nearly half a second shy of Leclerc’s benchmark, followed by Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari. Lance Stroll brushed the wall with his right front wheel through the Swimming Pool section but was fortunate not to sustain damage and finished the session seventh.
Sergio Perez took eighth place, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Alexander Albon, while George Russell, who had been third in FP1, ended up tenth after reporting severe vibrations in his car, prompting a setup change.
Yuki Tsunoda just missed out on the top 10, while Oscar Piastri, who was second-fastest in the opening session, wound up 12th, with his lap time around a second off Leclerc’s pace.
The two Alfa Romeos brought up the rear of the field, with Valtteri Bottas edging Zhou Guanyu, the gap between them 0.7 seconds.
Monaco Grand Prix FP2: Leclerc leads at home, Hamilton second. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/speedy-f1/9263.html
