Charles Leclerc ended Friday at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix on top, setting the fastest time during the second practice session. The Ferrari driver looking poised for a strong weekend at his home race.
After a briefly interrupted FP1 session—due to red flags caused by Zhou Guanyu touching the barriers—the drivers were eager to hit the track as FP2 began, with Lewis Hamilton leading a queue from the pit lane.
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Amid traffic issues for some, early concerns arose at Mercedes when George Russell reported vibrations through his steering wheel. Max Verstappen also faced difficulties, complaining of headaches from his Red Bull “jumping like a kangaroo.”
After the initial laps, Leclerc comfortably topped the timesheets, setting a benchmark of 1m 11.573s on the medium compound. Many drivers then switched to the soft tyre, with Leclerc besting Verstappen’s time by half a second.
Drivers were pushing as the session wore on, with Yuki Tsunoda, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen among those clipping the walls, though all escaped without significant consequences. Meanwhile, Hamilton put himself within two-tenths of Leclerc’s fastest time.
Leclerc’s lap of 1m 11.278s remained unbeaten for the rest of the hour, with Hamilton having a solid outing in P2 ahead of Fernando Alonso in third for Aston Martin. Verstappen, who had a minor run-in with Yuki Tsunoda in the latter stages and felt blocked by the Japanese driver, took fourth place.
Lando Norris led McLaren in P5, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P6. Lance Stroll claimed P7 for Aston Martin, followed by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in P8, who had earlier reported issues with the ride of his RB20.
Alex Albon and George Russell rounded out the top 10 for Williams and Mercedes, respectively, with Tsunoda slotting his RB in 11th. Piastri, who did not run the soft tyre on his McLaren during the session, finished in 12th.
Kevin Magnussen set the 13th fastest time for Haas, with Esteban Ocon following in 14th after lightly brushing the barriers in his Alpine later in the hour. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg took 15th place, while former Monaco winner Daniel Ricciardo finished 16th in the RB.
After limited running in FP1 due to a wastegate issue, Pierre Gasly could only manage P17 for Alpine. He was followed by Williams’ Logan Sargeant in P18, who was among the first to clip the barriers during the session.
The Sauber duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu brought up the rear in P19 and P20, respectively. Neither driver used the soft tyre, similar to the RB pair.
Monaco GP FP2 Results
2024 Monaco Grand Prix FP2, 24 May 2024
Source: formula1.com
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