The second hour of Practice got underway this afternoon in Monaco as Mercedes return to the track with some extra padding onboard for Hamilton after issues seen in FP1.
The Red Bulls were the fastest with 46 minutes to go and Perez was leading the charge in 1:14s just before a red flag was waved in response to McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo hitting the barriers at turn 13.
The Aussie driver lost control of his car after experiencing a snap of oversteer through the Louis Chiron chicane before he went into the barriers. Thankfully he escaped injury, however, the same couldn’t be said for his MCL36.
Racing resumed minutes later as many drivers opted to switch to soft tyres. Although Alpine’s Fernando Alonso claimed the lead straight out of the pits, he was pushed off the top spot moments later by a faster Red Bull in the hands of Sergio Perez – Max Verstappen less than a tenth off.
Not for long though, as Charles Leclerc managed to claw back to the top of the timesheet with a 1:13.125 – where he would remain until the end of the session.
With around thirty minutes to go however, he was a few tenths clear of both Red Bulls, while his teammate Carlos Sainz is down in P8 – he would improve to go second fastest when time ran out this evening.
Drivers spent the last quarter of the session focusing on race pace, with lap times around three seconds slower than was seen earlier today.
Early projections show Ferrari with the best average pace and will likely be the car to beat this weekend.
McLaren’s Lando Norris had a late off moment but fortunately he avoided the barriers – unlike his Aussie teammate earlier today.
Yellow flags were thrown in the first sector as he spun his car before rejoining the circuit to run fifth.
The final results when time ran out were as follows:
| DRIVER | TEAM | TIME | TYRE |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC | FERRARI | 1:12.656 | H |
| SAI | FERRARI | +0.044 | H |
| PER | RED BULL | +0.379 | M |
| VER | RED BULL | +0.447 | M |
| NOR | MCLAREN | +0.638 | S |
| RUS | MERCEDES | +0.750 | S |
| GAS | ALPHATAURI | +0.980 | M |
| ALO | ALPINE | +1.256 | S |
| VET | ASTON MARTIN | +1.403 | S |
| TSU | ALPHATAURI | +1.478 | S |
| MAG | HAAS | +1.583 | S |
| HAM | MERCEDES | +1.611 | M |
| BOT | ALFA ROMEO | +1.812 | M |
| ALB | WILLIAMS | +1.830 | M |
| ZHO | ALFA ROMEO | +1.869 | M |
| STR | ASTON MARTIN | +1.967 | S |
| MSC | HAAS | +2.238 | M |
| OCO | ALPINE | +2.560 | M |
| LAT | WILLIAMS | +3.620 | S |
| RIC | MCLAREN | NOTIME | M |
CATCH UP: FP1 Monaco: Mercedes struggle, traffic poses issues and Ferrari – Red Bull battle resumes
CATCH UP: Everything you need to know about the Monaco Grand Prix
