Charles Leclerc dominated the second free practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix. He edged out championship leader Oscar Piastri by just 0.038 seconds. Lewis Hamilton took third.
Early on, Piastri and teammate Lando Norris set the pace. Max Verstappen then took over. But with less than 10 minutes left, the red flag came out. Isack Hadjar crashed into the barriers at Nouvelle Chicane. He damaged his left rear tire but managed to drive back to the pits.
Session Restart
When the session resumed, Piastri took the lead again. But 19 minutes later, he hit the tire wall at Ste Devote. The McLaren suffered minor damage.
Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and Hamilton then traded the top spot with hard tires. Before switching to soft tires for qualifying simulations.
Leclerc picked up the pace. He set the three fastest lap times, including a 1:11.355. Piastri came close, finishing just 0.038 seconds behind. Hamilton took third, a tenth of a second behind Piastri.
Surprising Performances
Norris ended up fourth, ahead of the surprise pair from Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. Despite crashing again, this time at turn 1, and damaging his left rear suspension.
Alonso took seventh with a consistent performance. Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli and world champion Max Verstappen rounded out the top 10.
The Monaco Grand Prix weekend continues on Saturday with the third practice session at 11:30 AM. Qualifying follows at 3:00 PM.
