Ferrari bags 1-2 in Monaco practice session

Sports Desk, May 20 (EFE).- Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz dominated the second free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday with defending world champion Lewis Hamilton coming in third for Mercedes.

Local driver Leclerc put on an impressive performance in FP2 having been sidelined for FP1 by gearbox issues. He notched a time of 1:11.684 around the winding urban Montecarlo track, 0.112s ahead of Sainz to bag a shock Ferrari 1-2.

Hamilton, who is gunning for a record-breaking eighth world title this season, stopped the clock 0.390s behind the Monegasque leader, in front of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton sits atop the current leaderboard, ahead of the Dutchman.

Valtteri Bottas logged the fifth best time in the other Mercedes. Lando Norris of McLaren and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri followed behind.

Having secured the fastest time in the morning session, Red Bull’s Sergio “Checo” Pérez mustered an eighth place finish in FP2 ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi in the Alfa Romeo and Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin, who completed the top 10.

With the sun shining and blues over the principality of Monaco, all the drivers logged their fastest times on soft tires.

Friday serves as a rest day at Monaco, allowing the F1 circus a chance to soak up the glamorous surroundings of the historic venue.

Qualifying gets underway on Saturday before race day on Sunday.

Races like Monaco are traditionally an excellent opportunity for Red Bull and Ferrari to match Mercedes, whose pace on straights has less of an impact on such tight street circuits.EFE

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