Charles Leclerc showcased his skills as he dominated FP2 at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc went fastest in FP2 for the Monaco Grand Prix, pipping Lewis Hamilton to top spot, as the Mercedes driver backed up his table-topping pace from FP1.
Leclerc maintained his position at the top while the majority of the field engaged in qualifying simulations using soft tires. What was even more remarkable was that he had a lead of almost one second over the rest of the field after their initial 20-minute runs, displaying unwavering confidence at his home circuit.
Charles Leclerc tops Monaco FP2 with impressive medium tyre pace
At the beginning of FP2, there was a line of cars waiting to get on the track due to the possibility of rain. The drivers’ run plans could be affected if it started to rain.
In any typical FP2 session, teams would focus on long runs and qualifying simulations. Initially, cars would be equipped with a combination of hard and medium tires to accumulate more laps.
Unlike FP1, the drivers were looking to explore the limits of the track more in the early minutes, Leclerc putting his Ferrari quickest on a 1:13.404 in the first few minutes before Hamilton, the session-topper in first practice, went a tenth quicker than his 2025 team-mate.
Max Verstappen further improved his lap time on the hard compound tires, surpassing his earlier impressive performance in FP1 when he and teammate Sergio Perez recorded their fastest times on medium tires instead of softs.
Moments later, a 1:12.260 from Leclerc showed he was getting his eye in further at his home track, some seven tenths quicker than anyone else as the Ferrari driver going in search of his first podium around the streets near where he grew up.
Verstappen voiced his dissatisfaction, likening his experience in the Red Bull car to that of a kangaroo’s erratic jumps. He also expressed his discomfort, stating that the continuous bouncing was causing him headaches. As the reigning World Champion, he aims to secure his third Monaco Grand Prix win this weekend.
In the meantime, Leclerc continued to enhance his performance on the medium tyres, setting a remarkable time of 1:11.573. This impressive lap was nearly one whole second faster than Hamilton, who secured second place when the drivers returned to the pit lane after their initial 20-minute sessions.
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However, since the weather remained favorable, the drivers would switch to soft rubber tires during the session to simulate qualifying conditions, leading to the representative lap times.
After their initial runs on medium tyres, Verstappen trailed Leclerc by a mere two tenths, but the Ferrari driver extended his lead by going even faster and achieving a time of 1:11.278. This created a comfortable half-second gap between Leclerc and Verstappen as they completed their first runs on soft tyres.
Sergio Perez echoed his team-mate’s worries regarding the performance of his Red Bull car, expressing frustration over limited visibility in certain sections of the track. He further described the ride as “terrible” and mentioned difficulties in spotting the apex of Massenet while driving uphill.
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso took Verstappen’s place behind Leclerc – albeit still almost half a second behind – though the Red Bull driver aborted his second flying lap after setting the fastest first sector of anyone after making contact with the wall on the exit of Turn 7 [Mirabeau Bas].
Leclerc’s aggressive driving was clearly evident to everyone who watched, as he skillfully maneuvered his SF-24 through the Fairmont Hairpin, narrowly avoiding a collision with the wall. Additionally, he expertly corrected a moment of oversteer through Portier on the next lap.
In the session, Hamilton’s time of 1:11.466 was the closest anyone got to challenging him, as the seven-time World Champion maintained his impressive speed from FP1 during qualifying simulations.
After the second Free Practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso, Verstappen, and Lando Norris secured positions in the top five. However, there is still one more hour of practice left on Saturday before the crucial qualifying session takes place.
Monaco Grand Prix 2024: FP2 classification
1 Charles LECLERC Ferrari 1:11.278
2 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.188
3 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +0.475
4 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull +0.535
5 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.675
6 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.684
7 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.784
8 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull +0.821
9 Alexander ALBON Williams +0.979
10 George RUSSELL Mercedes +0.982
11 Yuki TSUNODA RB +1.071 [medium tyres]
12 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +1.088
13 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas +1.195
14 Esteban OCON Alpine +1.276
15 Nico HULKENBERG Haas +1.291
16 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +1.299
17 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1.472
18 Logan SARGEANT Williams +1.512
19 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +1.779
20 ZHOU Guanyu Kick Sauber +2.495
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