F1: Verstappen tops 2nd practice for Monaco GP
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Defending World Driving Champion Max Verstappen turned the fastest lap in the 2nd practice session for the Monaco GP with a lap of 1m12.462s in his #1 Red Bull Honda.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. were close behind, but Sainz his the barrier at the swimming pool late in the session to bring out the Red Flag. He broke his right front suspension.
Verstappen struggled in FP1 but looked much more comfortable in the second session, going quicker and quicker with each lap on the soft compound tires. Leclerc couldn’t stitch a lap together early on but finally managed to get a decent time on the board late on
Fernando Alonso was 4th for Aston Martin, 0.220s behind, while Land Norris rounded out the top-5 for McLaren, 0.444s back.
As for Mercedes and those upgrades, well, Lewis Hamilton looked pretty decent in FP1 but dropped back on the soft tires in FP2, saying he can’t get anything else out of his package. George Russell was out of the top 10 in both sessions, so Mr Saturday will need to be at his very best tomorrow to get in the mix.
Practice 2 Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:12.462 | +0.000s | 30 |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:12.527 | +0.065s | 33 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:12.569 | +0.107s | 22 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:12.682 | +0.220s | 32 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:12.906 | +0.444s | 18 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:12.960 | +0.498s | 29 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:12.991 | +0.529s | 30 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:13.050 | +0.588s | 33 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:13.089 | +0.627s | 28 |
| 10 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:13.162 | +0.700s | 30 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:13.185 | +0.723s | 31 |
| 12 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:13.191 | +0.729s | 32 |
| 13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:13.354 | +0.892s | 32 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.457 | +0.995s | 28 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.520 | +1.058s | 33 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:13.641 | +1.179s | 22 |
| 17 | 21 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:13.663 | +1.201s | 34 |
| 18 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:13.673 | +1.211s | 30 |
| 19 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:14.217 | +1.755s | 10 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:14.238 | +1.776s | 33 |