FP2: Mercede leaves competition bite the dust

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuitmc

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.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:11.118-41
277Valtteri BottasMercedes1:11.199+0.081s48
35Sebastian VettelFerrari1:11.881+0.763s42
410Pierre GaslyRed Bull Racing Honda1:11.938+0.820s39
523Alexander AlbonScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:12.031+0.913s51
633Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda1:12.052+0.934s17
720Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:12.174+1.056s54
899Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:12.239+1.121s51
97Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:12.342+1.224s51
1016Charles LeclercFerrari1:12.350+1.232s42
118Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:12.392+1.274s51
124Lando NorrisMcLaren Renault1:12.393+1.275s27
1355Carlos SainzMcLaren Renault1:12.419+1.301s47
1426Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:12.577+1.459s39
1511Sergio PerezRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:12.752+1.634s44
1627Nico HulkenbergRenault1:12.872+1.754s49
173Daniel RicciardoRenault1:12.888+1.770s53
1818Lance StrollRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:14.558+3.440s40
1963George RussellWilliams Mercedes1:15.052+3.934s37
2088Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes1:15.146+4.028s45