INDIA in F1

Tag: FP2

  • Charles Leclerc tops both practice sessions; Piastri and Hamilton follow Leclerc in FP2 

    Charles Leclerc tops both practice sessions; Piastri and Hamilton follow Leclerc in FP2 

    Monaco, 23 May 2025: After topping the opening practice session for home grand prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc made it a Friday clean sweep as he went quickest in the second practice session for Sunday’s 2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top spot in a session twice halted by red flags. 

    Earlier, Leclerc went quickest in the first free practice on the streets of his hometown as the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix got underway.

    In FP1, Leclerc, topped the timesheet with a lap of 1:11.964 set close to the halfway mark of the one-hour session and though with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris got close the Ferrari driver’s time kept him in control until the chequered flag. 

    IN FP2: It was championship leader Piastri and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris who led the way early in the session before they were usurped by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. However, at the 10-minute mark the session was halted for the first time when Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar clipped the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane. 

    The French rookie suffered a rear left puncture and stopped on track, bringing out the red flags. He was, however, able to limp back to the pit lane and one the brief stoppage had ended he was able to rejoin the action.

    When the session resumed Piastri returned to the top of the order with a lap of 1:12.548, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli slotting into just 0.039s behind. Leclerc was going even quicker, however, and the local hero posted a lap of 1:12.103 to take top sport. 

    However, almost immediately after Leclerc’s heroics, Piastri brought out the red flags again. The Australian went straight on at Sainte Devote and broke his front wing. He too was able to continue and after returning to the pit lane under the caution and he was soon repaired and back out once the track went green again. 

    After the resumption, Aston’s Fernando Alonso and Hamilton traded the lead on hard Pirelli rubber before the field began to make the switch to the C6 Pirelli tyres for qualifying simulations. 

    And it was Leclerc who found the most time on the red-banded tyres. The Ferrari driver opened with a 1:11.414 before working his way down to 1:11.355 just after the halfway mark. The Monegasque driver might have gone even quicker but after a personal best opening sector he lost fractions of time across the rest of the lap. 

    Piastri got closest to the Ferrari star and his lap of 1:11.393 left him 0.038 off top spot and a little under seven hundredths clear of Hamilton who popped in a strong lap of 1:11.460 in the other Ferrari. 

    Lando Norris ended up in fourth place, 0.322 off Leclerc in the other McLaren, while Liam Lawson took a surprise fifth for Racing Bulls with a lap of 1:11.823, while team-mate Isack Hadjar recovered to finish sixth, just two hundredths of a second behind the New Zealander. 

    Alonso finished in P7 ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, while Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished 10th and 11th respectively. 

    2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.355 32 168.358
    2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.393 0.038 28 168.268
    3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:11.460 0.105 30 168.110
    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.677 0.322 32 167.601
    5 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:11.823 0.468 32 167.261
    6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:11.842 0.487 17 167.216
    7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:11.890 0.535 30 167.105
    8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:11.918 0.563 34 167.040
    9 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:12.002 0.647 32 166.845
    10 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.068 0.713 29 166.692
    11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.072 0.717 30 166.683
    12 George Russell Mercedes 1:12.092 0.737 32 166.637
    13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:12.151 0.796 32 166.500
    14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.234 0.879 29 166.309
    15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:12.259 0.904 33 166.251
    16 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.262 0.907 32 166.245
    17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:12.404 1.049 34 165.919
    18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.512 1.157 30 165.671
    19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:12.541 1.186 33 165.605
    20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:13.415 2.060 31 163.634

  • Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari’s 1-2 in FP2 at Monaco

    Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari’s 1-2 in FP2 at Monaco

    Monaco, 20 May 2021: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace on home soil in the second practice session for Sunday’s 2021 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, with the Monegasque driver a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz and almost four tenths faster than third-place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

    Leclerc had missed most of the morning session with a gearbox problem and seeking to make up for lost time the local hero was one of the first on track in the afternoon session and in the opening phase of the session he was frequently at the top of the timesheet as he quickly built up pace.

    He was ousted, though, by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who took top spot with lap of 1:13.961. The Dutchman then lowered his own benchmark to 1:13.499. Hamilton then set an identical laptime to take P2 by virtue of having set the time later after Verstappen.

    Verstappen then went quicker again reaching 1:13.241, despite being hampered by traffic in the sector.

    Hamilton then dipped into 1m12s bracket and a second flying lap saw him improve to 1:12.569.

    The Mercedes drivers then moved to soft tyres and Valtteri Bottas jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:12.107. Hamilton looked on course to eclipse that but he lost time when he took too much kerb at the Nouvelle Chicane. The mistake meant he took P2 behind Bottas, 0.173s adrift.

    Sainz then posted what looked to be the fastest time of FP2 with a lap of 1:11.796, especially when Hamilton, who had continued his run, set what would end up being only the session’s third fastest time.

    However, just inside the final 20 minutes, Leclerc set the session’s fastest time with a lap 1:11.684,  0.112 clear of Sainz and 0.390s in front of Hamilton. 

    Verstappen had to settle for fourth ahead of Bottas after the Dutch driver encountered traffic at the end of his first flying lap.

    The session was red-flagged a few minutes from time when Haas’s Mick Schumacher crashed Haas at Massenet. He was able to keep going but eventually had to pull over and stop at an escape road beyond the chicane.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.684 30 167.585
    2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:11.796 0.112 32 167.324
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:12.074 0.390 28 166.678
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:12.081 0.397 27 166.662
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:12.107 0.423 32 166.602
    6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.379 0.695 24 165.976
    7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:12.498 0.814 28 165.703
    8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:12.708 1.024 24 165.225
    9 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:12.746 1.062 28 165.138
    10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.982 1.298 26 164.604
    11 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:13.065 1.381 31 164.417
    12 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:13.175 1.491 27 164.170
    13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:13.195 1.511 26 164.125
    14 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:13.199 1.515 28 164.116
    15 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:13.257 1.573 26 163.987
    16 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:13.509 1.825 32 163.424
    17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:13.593 1.909 31 163.238
    18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:14.407 2.723 26 161.452
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:14.416 2.732 25 161.433
    20 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:14.829 3.145 11 160.542