Leclerc sets strong pace to top second F1 practice in Monaco

Charles Leclerc set a strong lap to end up almost two-tenths faster than his rivals and lead the second practice hour in this weekend’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver is striving to end his protracted wait for a win on home soil on his sixth outing here in an F1 car and he clocked a 1:11.278s on Softs to go quickest.

Lewis Hamilton had fronted the times in the opening practice session and he backed up that encouraging showing to end FP2 in second, 0.188s slower than Leclerc.

Fernando Alonso entered this weekend optimistic that Aston Martin would be more competitive on the unique Monte Carlo track and he was third, three-tenths down.

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The Spaniard edged out Max Verstappen, who was once again reporting dissatisfaction with his Red Bull car despite improving from 11th earlier to wind up in fourth.

Verstappen bounced his left rear against the barrier on the approach to Portier, prompting Red Bull to wheel his RB20 car back into the garage to assess the damage.

Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez concurred with Verstappen on the ride of his car as he laboured to eighth place on the timesheets, eight-tenths slower than Leclerc.

Lando Norris completed the top five spots for McLaren, leading Carlos Sainz as the Spaniard concluded proceedings close to seven-tenths behind the sister Ferrari.

Aston Martin’s promising pace was supported as Lance Stroll came in seventh, with Alex Albon elevating his Williams into ninth, ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri occupied the initial places outside the top 10, but both drivers set the fastest times on the slower Medium compound.

Kevin Magnussen was 13th as Esteban Ocon’s Alpine split the two Haas cars in the order, with Daniel Ricciardo, also on the Medium, in 16th in the second RB charger.

Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant trailed their team-mates, as Sauber endured a subpar outing with both cars slowest in the field, Valtteri Bottas fronting Zhou Guanyu.