Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver during the second hour of free practice for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
The medium and hard tyres were the choice of compound for all the teams in the first few runs as the drivers continue to build their confidence around the streets of Monte Carlo. The tight corners and narrow streets demand incredible car control and driver skills, so the first few hours of practice are crucial for building up to the all important qualifying session.
As we saw in Free Practice One, the teams soon switched to the soft compound tyre for their qualifying simulations. Visa Cash App RB and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber didn’t run the softs, leaving Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo down in eleventh and sixteenth, Valtteri Bottas in nineteenth and Zhou Guanyu last. Oscar Piastri also didn’t get a chance to set a time on the softs after brushing the wall on his medium tyre run.
The big headline was Max Verstappen ending the session five tenths down from Leclerc at the top of the timesheets. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver wasn’t happy with his RB20 throughout the session, giving the team lots to do going into Free Practice Three on Saturday morning.
Leclerc ended the session at the top of the times, with a 1:11.278, going nearly a second quicker than Hamilton’s time in Free Practice One. Hamilton was two tenths behind the home town hero in second, while Fernando Alonso rounded out the top three almost five tenths away from Leclerc.
Verstappen finished down in fourth, with Lando Norris in fifth. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished almost seven tenths back from his teammate in sixth. Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez finished in seventh and eighth. Alex Albon showed promise for Williams Racing with a good lap for ninth, while George Russell rounded out the top ten.
Tsunoda was the lead RB car in eleventh, over two tenths ahead of his teammate, Ricciardo, in sixteenth. Piastri had issues in the session after hitting the wall, finishing down in twelfth after a strong Free Practice One. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg weren’t separated by much in thirteenth and fifteenth, with only Esteban Ocon in-between the Haas pair.
Pierre Gasly managed to get some crucial running after missing a large majority of Free Practice One, and he ended the day in seventeenth, ahead of Logan Sargeant, Bottas and Zhou.
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| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:11.278 | 37 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:11.466 | +0.188s | 32 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:11.753 | +0.475s | 37 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:11.813 | +0.535s | 37 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:11.953 | +0.675s | 35 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:11.962 | +0.684s | 36 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:12.062 | +0.784s | 22 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:12.099 | +0.821s | 31 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:12.257 | +0.979s | 38 |
| 10 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:12.260 | +0.982s | 30 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:12.349 | +1.071s | 36 |
| 12 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:12.366 | +1.088s | 35 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:12.473 | +1.195s | 31 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:12.554 | +1.276s | 34 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:12.569 | +1.291s | 34 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:12.577 | +1.299s | 37 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:12.750 | +1.472s | 35 |
| 18 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:12.790 | +1.512s | 36 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:13.057 | +1.779s | 31 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:13.773 | +2.495s | 32 |
