Charles Leclerc ended the first day of practice for his home grand prix in Monaco quickest of all just ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari driver set the best lap with a 1’11.278, just under two tenths slower than Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso was third-fastest for Aston Martin, with Max Verstappen continuing to complain about the handling of his Red Bull in fourth.
Drivers enjoyed a second dry session with no rain falling despite the build up of cloud cover following the earlier first practice session. All 20 cars were quickly out on track, with Leclerc posting the best time of the early phase of the session with a 1’11.278 on the softs, half a second quicker than Verstappen.
After his early struggles with balance in the opening session, Verstappen continued to battle with his Red Bull. He complained about the stiff ride of his car giving him “headaches”, while team mate Sergio Perez also reported he was struggling to see the approach to Massenet due to the vibrations he was experiencing in the car.
Several drivers brushed the walls over the course of the hour, starting with Logan Sargeant who bumped into barrier at Anthony Noghes, leading Williams to call him in to examine his car. Oscar Piastri glanced the inside barrier at the exit of the Swimming Pool, with Esteban Ocon testing the rigidity of the barrier on the exit of the sequence. All avoided any significant damage to their respective cars.
Leclerc’s best time remained the benchmark as many moved their focus onto higher fuel runs. Fortunately, the final quarter of the hour elapsed without any notable incident, leaving Leclerc at the top of the times, a tenth of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Fernando Alonso was third-fastest for Aston Martin, just under half a second slower than Leclerc’s best, with Verstappen fourth in the Red Bull. Lando Norris was fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz Jnr, Lance Stroll and Perez in eighth. The top ten was completed by Alexander Albon and George Russell in the second Mercedes.
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2024 Monaco Grand Prix second practice result
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2024 Monaco Grand Prix
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