FP2: Leclerc dominates second practice in Monaco

F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuit

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.