In FP2 in Monte-Carlo, the team is in charge Red Bull by Max Verstappen followed by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, blocked 15 minutes from time. Let's see what happened in this second and last session on Friday.
This is how it recovers
We left with a red flag. The FP1, in fact, ended early due to the accident of Alexander Albon, heavily walled St.-Devote 3 minutes from the end. The Thai driver was unable to get back on track for FP2, despite the hard work of the Williams mechanics.
The first to mark the time in the afternoon is George Russell, who suffered from an "experimental" W14 in the first session. There Mercedes has chosen to bring the first important updates to Monte-Carlo, an atypical track, little used for this type of operation. Russell's time was immediately attacked by Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen. During FP1, the Dutchman had to fight with an RB19 with an overly aggressive set-up. The team had to immediately run for cover by raising the single-seater. The situation for the two-time world champion improved markedly in the afternoon. With 40 minutes to go, Max's advantage over the rest of the group is around 3 tenths. Behind Perez, Sainz and Leclerc with hard rubber.
Qualification simulation
The first to take to the track with the Reds for the qualifying simulation is Fernando Alonso who does the fastest lap with 1:12.786. Teammate Lance Stroll couldn't do better and finished behind him with about 8 tenths of a disadvantage from the Spaniard. Better than Stroll does Bottas, fifth, with a red rubber 5 tenths off Alonso's time. With 30 minutes to go, the times of other riders on the red also start to arrive. Esteban Ocon is placed in second position, while Russell and Hamilton rise to third and fourth position. Alonso's time was further lowered by Carlos Sainz, the first of the Ferrari duo to launch with the reds. Many traffic problems, a custom in Monte-Carlo. A factor that will be crucial in qualifying.
20 minutes from the end Max Verstappen imposes himself with a time of 1:12.462. About 1 tenth faster than Sainz. Behind them Alonso, Leclerc and Norris to close the top 5. The gap with Red Bull is further shortened by the home driver Charles Leclerc, who finishes in second position at 65 thousandths.
Red flag, and Sainz on the wall
Everything had gone well for Sainz, who had to stop 15 minutes from the end of the session due to contact with the wall. The Spaniard broke his front right arm when exiting the pool and was forced to return to the pits, without a car. The session resumes after a few minutes for the last 10 of the day. Who knows if Sainz's accident didn't take away some confidence from the other riders.
The session ended without any other surprises, as most of the riders no longer set times on the reds. Max Verstappen remains in command with a time of 1:12.462, followed by Leclerc and Sainz. Alonso and Norris close the top 5. Alpine further back, in ninth position with Gasly and tenth with Ocon. However, the French team scores some interesting times in terms of race pace. Hamilton finishes in P6, while Russell stops in P12. Perez does no better than P7 about 5 tenths behind his teammate. Bottas also enters the top 10, ending the day on a positive note. Bringing up the rear De Vries, Piastri and Sargeant, the three rookies. Albon didn't get on track.
For today it's all from Monte-Carlo. Appointment tomorrow with FP3 which will start at 12:30 and qualifying at 16:00.
The following the complete times of FP2
