Lewis Hamilton fastest for Ferrari as McLaren problem strikes Norris

Lewis Hamilton has ended Friday fastest at the Monaco Grand Prix as he topped Free Practice 2 from his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

The pair built on strong pace earlier in the day in a session where a reliability issue saw Lando Norris climb from his McLaren with little more than 10 minutes on the clock.

Lewis Hamilton backs up early Ferrari pace in Monaco

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The early moments of the session saw most out on medium compound tyres, building on the work they did in the latter stages of opening practice earlier in the day.

Then, they began their programmes on hard tyres before switching onto the yellow-walled rubber, though grip remained at a premium.

That saw plenty of sliding, primarily on the rear axle, as demonstrated by Isack Hadjar who found the wall at the exit of the Swimming Pool earlier in the day.

Hadjar’s entry into FP2 was delayed as Red Bull completed repairs to his car following that incident.

Ferrari’s early pace continued with Lewis Hamilton initially fastest before Charles Leclerc went 0.066s faster.

The Monegasque was fastest until Max Verstappen went faster after 10 minutes, clocking a 1:14.008 to rise to the top of the timing sheets.

As he did so, Hadjar was climbing into his car to commence his session, and Hamilton was on a much faster lap.

He lost time through the final sector, comparatively, though still proved 0.279s better than Verstappen’s time just two minutes earlier.

It was a wild lap, driving through both the entry and exit of the Swimming Pool as the Ferrari danced around underneath him.

A problem for Lando Norris saw the McLaren driver stop in the run off at the Nouvelle Chicane and climb from his car, the incident covered by a Virtual Safety Car.

It proved cumbersome for marshals to push clear, the car looking stuck in gear after what looked to be an electrical or battery failure.

Leclerc usurped his teammate on the timing sheets with a 1:13.613, a time that came despite a mistake in the Nouvelle Chicane as he ran over the apex kerb.

The back and forth between the two Ferrari drivers highlighted the inherent pace in the car, a point highlighted by Norris ahead of the weekend as he flagged the Scuderia as favourites.

As the session wore on, the track continued to rubber in, leading to ever improving lap times.

That was helped by a switch to soft compound tyres in the middle of the session as qualifying simulations began.

That saw Verstappen return to the top of the timing totem with a 1:13.467, a time that proved less than a tenth quicker than Hamilton had managed on the medium rubber.

When the Brit swapped to the red-walled tyres, he improved to a 1:13.026 to return himself to the top of the timesheets.

Franco Colapinto brushed the wall at Ste Devote, prompting Alpine to check his car, but it was the most notable of the brushes with the barrier.

It wasn’t the only one, though, with Oscar Piastri touching the barrier along with a host of others as they flirted with the limits in cars predisposed to sliding around.

Away from the top of the timesheets, Piastri found himself in the lower half of the Top 10, within touching distance of the two Audis which emerged as perhaps the strongest midfield contenders.

In the final minutes, a brake issue for Sergio Perez saw the Cadillac driver forced to stop at Casino Square, where the front-right caught fire.

It triggered the third red flag of the day and marked the effective end of the session despite officials clearing the car away quickly.

When running resumed, just two minutes remained, enough time for cars to head back out to complete a practice start but little else.

Hamilton therefore ended the session fastest from his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, with Max Verstappen third-best.

George Russell was the faster of the two Mercedes in fourth, just over a tenth clear of Kimi Antonelli in fifth but almost four tenths away from Hamilton’s fastest.

F1 Results: Free Practice 2, Monaco Grand Prix

1 Lewis Hamilton 1:13.026
2 Charles Leclerc +0.111
3 Max Verstappen +0.168
4 George Russell +0.379
5 Kimi Antonelli +0.503
6 Isack Hadjar +1.061
7 Oscar Piastri +1.062
8 Nico Hulkenberg +1.068
9 Gabriel Bortoleto +1.333
10 Oliver Bearman +1.43

Check out the full results from Free Practice 2.

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