Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images
The teams are back on the track for the second practice session ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix
The teams are headed back to the grid for the second free practice session in advance of the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, hoping to apply the lessons learned in the first practice earlier on Friday.
That session saw Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari lead the way, followed by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Championship leader Max Verstappen, who seemed to be battling the setup of his RB19, placed seventh in the morning’s practice session.
Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five from the morning session.
Leclerc is hoping to finally break through with a victory in Monaco, driving the streets where he grew up. Leclerc’s bitter Monaco history is well documented, but with Ferrari’s one-lap pace this year looking strong, there is a good chance he could very well be on pole come Sunday, with a chance to finally win at home.
The 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is set for Sunday, and here is everything you need to know to watch. Until then, we’ll have you covered with a live rundown of the second practice session.
Before we get underway for FP2, here are some moments from FP1 earlier today. First we see Nico Hülkenberg suffer a puncture to his left rear:
And then this from Alex Albon which brought FP1 to an early close, as he loses the rear coming out of Turn 1:
In the pre-practice show on F1TV Will Buxton made the point that the first practice session, which saw the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc in the top five, was run with all teams on both the hard or the medium tyres. While that might speak somewhat to race pace, in Monaco qualifying is the ballgame, so we will learn much more when the teams take to the streets with the soft tyres.
