FP2: Leclerc delivers a series of sensational laps to head second practice in Monaco

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc once again set the pace in the second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, heading a one-two for the Scuderia. The session was red-flagged after Daniel Ricciardo lost control of his McLaren at the swimming pool chicane, becoming the first driver to crash this weekend.

After retiring from the Spanish Grand Prix despite his dominant form, Charles Leclerc was eager to forget the dismal reliability issue and put in a good performance in front of his home crowd. The Monegasque focused solely on the medium compound in the opening session, but used the hard and the medium Pirelli tyres in the evening session.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen dominated the first part of the session, using the yellow-walled tyres while the Ferrari duo concentrated on the hard compound. When drivers headed onto the challenging Monte Carlo track on the red-walled soft compound, times began to tumble.

In the end, Leclerc set the fastest lap of 1m 12.656s, Ferrari team mate Sainz just 0.044s behind in P2. Red Bull’s Perez and Verstappen lined up behind the Scuderia’s pair with the Mexican by 0.379s and the Dutchman 0.447s adrift of the four-time race winner’s benchmark.

Despite still not being fully healthy following his challenging Barcelona weekend, Lando Norris was quick in the second session, setting the fifth fastest lap time.

Mercedes continued to lag behind Ferrari and Red Bull, albeit they seemed to have taken a step back compared to their form in Miami and Barcelona. George Russell took sixth, over seven tenths of a second behind Leclerc. His team mate Lewis Hamilton encountered traffic on his hot laps, and only managed to secure P12. The seven-time world champion complained about his Mercedes bouncing severely in the first session which appeared to affect the W13 in the second practice as well.

Fernando Alonso was over 1.2s off the Leclerc's benchmark in eighth, his team mate Esteban Ocon only managing a lap good enough for P18 in the other Alpine. Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel took 9th, proving the improvements his team has made recently.

Following power unit issues in FP1, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas recorded the 13th fastest time in the second practice with his team mate Zhou Guanyu two places behind. Williams racer Alex Albon appeared to have the right setup in the second session, taking 14th on the tight and twisty streets of Monaco.