Leclerc Tops Practice In Monaco Ahead Of Hamilton And Alonso

In an enthralling second practice session at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, home favourite Charles Leclerc of Ferrari secured the fastest time, edging out Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Dominant Performance by Leclerc

Leclerc set the pace early in the session, posting a 1:12.372 on Medium tyres, surpassing an initial time of 1:13.265 set by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen on Hard tyres. As the session progressed, Leclerc continually improved his time, eventually clocking a best lap of 1:11.573 on C4 tyres before switching to C5 Soft tyres for qualifying simulations.

With the softer tyres, Leclerc further extended his lead, posting a lap of 1:11.278, solidifying his top spot. Verstappen, attempting to close the gap, clipped the wall at Portier, forcing him to abort his lap and leaving his earlier P2 time vulnerable.

“All in all, it seems that we have a good car for this track and I felt quite confident with it today. We have to keep that rhythm in place for FP3, because I may have taken a bit more risk today than others did, which paid off in terms of lap times, but the key here is to put it all together in qualifying when everyone starts really pushing the limits. All in all, it seems that we have a good car for this track and I felt quite confident with it today. We have to keep that rhythm in place for FP3, because I may have taken a bit more risk today than others did, which paid off in terms of lap times, but the key here is to put it all together in qualifying when everyone starts really pushing the limits. We did a good job overall and have to keep focusing on ourselves. It was a great feeling to be back in the car on the streets of my home town and to feel all the support, we will give it everything to have a good one tomorrow,” said Leclerc.

Hamilton and Alonso’s Strong Showings

Hamilton, who had set the fastest time in the first practice session, managed to secure the second spot with a time of 1:11.466. Alonso, showing impressive pace, posted a time of 1:11.753, placing him in third ahead of Verstappen.

For Hamilton, it was the best day of what has been a disappointing season to date. “It’s been a good day, probably the best we’ve had so far this year, and the car is feeling very positive. This track is just amazing in an F1 car, and I’ve been enjoying my driving today – I was pleasantly surprised by the grip level and the way the car was responding, which made it a much more enjoyable ride than the last two years. In the second session, it felt a bit less comfortable, and we’ve got lots of work to do overnight to improve the long runs and the front graining. It was a feeling positive on the lower fuel, and we don’t want to lose that, but our focus now is to improve on the long run,” said the seven-time champion.

Verstappen expressed dissatisfaction with his car’s performance, comparing it to “jumping around like a kangaroo” and indicating that the balance issues were causing him a headache.

“It was pretty difficult but we knew coming into the race this weekend that this might be the case. There was a lot of bounce and temperature changes on track, which also made it tricky. Every time that we went over a bump, the car lost a lot of lap time and on this track one small jump could result in you ending up against the wall. We are looking into a solution ahead of the weekend to sort this out. In general, the issue is a bit more difficult to solve in set up and it won’t be a quick fix but we are going to work on it overnight; we don’t expect miracles but are still looking ahead to tomorrow. Ferrari are also looking quick but I am not thinking about that ahead of tomorrow. Overnight we are going to review the issues that we have and we will hopefully improve the drive of the car ahead of qualifying,” added the Dutchman.

Midfield Battles and Notable Performances

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished in fifth place, followed closely by Carlos Sainz, who was nearly seven-tenths adrift of his Ferrari teammate Leclerc. Lance Stroll placed seventh in the second Aston Martin, just ahead of Sergio Pérez in the other Red Bull. Williams’ Alexander Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top ten.

Full Results from Free Practice 2

As the teams prepare for the upcoming sessions, Leclerc’s performance in the second practice session places him as a strong contender for the weekend, aiming to capitalize on his home advantage in the iconic streets of Monte Carlo.