MONTE CARLO —
Charles Leclerc completed a
convincing ‘double top’ at his home Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, finishing
second practice fastest ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz.
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The 24-year-old Monegasque driver, who was also
quickest in the opening session, clocked a best lap in one minute and 12.656
seconds to outpace the Spaniard by just 0.044 seconds, leaving the two Red
Bulls of Sergio Perez and world champion Max Verstappen third and fourth, more
than three-tenths adrift.
Lando Norris, still battling tonsillitis, was fifth
for McLaren ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and Pierre Gasly, an impressive
seventh for the Alpha Tauri team on a very warm afternoon in the Mediterranean
principality.
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was eighth for
Alpine ahead of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin and
Yuki Tsunoda in the second Alpha Tauri.
This left a disgruntled
Lewis Hamilton down in 12th,
behind Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, in the second Mercedes, the seven-time champion
struggling with continued bouncing as he sought a set-up that would be
comfortable and fast.
The session was interrupted once by a red flag when
Daniel Ricciardo crashed into the Swimming Pool complex, emerging unscathed
from his damaged McLaren.
After topping the times in the opening session,
Leclerc was quickly back on the pace in his Ferrari, running on hard tires, as
he sought to become the first Monegasque to score points at home since Louis
Chiron finished third in 1950 and regain the lead in this year’s drivers’
championship.
After his third consecutive win in Spain last
Sunday, Dutchman Verstappen leads on 110 points, six ahead of Leclerc.
In a fast-switching contest between them, the Red
Bulls and
Ferraris were within two-tenths of a second of each other as Russell
and the rest bumped in pursuit, Mercedes still searching for a successful
set-up.
‘Undrivable’ Mercedes
In opening practice,
Hamilton had complained of continued serious bouncing described by team chief
Toto Wolff as making their car “undrivable”.
He explained it was not the same “proposing” as seen
earlier this year, but a ride height problem.
“Sometimes, it is a combination of aerodynamics and
stiffness, but this is just due to the stiffness,” he said, adding that
Hamilton had requested padding for his elbows for the second session.
“We’ll try to make it more enjoyable for them, but
we want a fast car,” he said. “If it’s fast, we will make him all the pads he
needs.”
Ricciardo delivered another example of the bumpy
challenge the drivers faced after 14 minutes when he lost control of his
McLaren and smacked into the barriers at the ‘swimming pool’ complex.
He was unhurt but his car suffered severe front
damage, ending his participation. A seven-minute delay for the day’s second red
flag ensued before
Valtteri Bottas, back in action after earlier gearbox
problems, led the field back in his Alfa Romeo.
The pause offered all involved a chance to breathe
and relax in the heat, with an air temperature of 30 degrees and the track at
53, before returning to an intense ‘qualifying rehearsal’ scrap.
Leclerc continued to look dominant, trimming his lap
to 1:12.656, three-tenths clear of an improved Perez before Sainz climbed back
to second, two-tenths off the pace.
At this point, with 20 minutes to go, Ferrari was on
top of Red Bull’s challenge, while others scrambled and scraped. Russell
clipped the barriers at Tabac, Norris did the same at Ste Devote and Hamilton
locked up at Mirabeau – three Britons sliding in the heat before switching to
longer high fuel-load running.
Leclerc was notable for his absence with 12 minutes
remaining, but he returned for the final six to complete a solid day’s work by
the ‘scarlet Scuderia’ who finished with a strong one-two.
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