FP2: Ricciardo shines in Monaco

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was the star of the second practice session in Monte Carlo after he put in the fastest time of the day with his new Renault engine.

For the first time this season, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were genuinely challenged for pace as they were second and third fastest respectively.

Spanish Grand Prix Champion Max Verstappen couldn’t quite match the pace of his teammate’s new engine but was none the less impressive to keep the two Ferrari’s behind him on timesheet.

Starting off the first sector with blistering speed, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel suffered a blunder on a hot lap when he spun out and damaged his rear wing. However, the  German told the Scuderia to “Get a spare ready” as he stormed back on the track.

The four-time World Champion failed to get his rhythm back and suffered a few more blemishes as the session progressed.

After crashing out of FP1, Renault driver Jolyon Palmer managed to get out on the track with 30 minutes ago, something the French-based team were delighted about.

However, their applause was short lived as Palmer’s teammate Kevin Magnussen went into the barrier only moments later.

Elsewhere, Toro Rosso duo Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniil Kvyat mirrored their parent team drivers at Red  Bull to also end the session quicker than Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel.

Haas driver Romain Grosjean fell victim to the famous Monaco GP tunnel when he lost control of his car as soon as he came out and scraped the barrier, luckily the damage wasn’t too bad and he continued with his session.

Manor driver Rio Haryanto ended his session after only eight laps when the Indonesian crashed his car at the Chicane.

Times
1 Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull Racing 1:14.607     40 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton  Mercedes 1:15.213 +0.606     36 laps
3 Nico Rosberg  Mercedes 1:15.506 0.899     48 laps
4 Max Verstappen  Red Bull Racing 1:15.571 0.964 42 laps
5 Daniil Kvyat  Toro Rosso 1:15.815 1.208     53 laps
6 Carlos Sainz Jr.  Toro Rosso 1:15.981 1.374     54 laps
7 Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari 1:16.040 1.433     38 laps
8 Sergio Perez  Force India 1:16.120 1.513     48 laps
9 Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari 1:16.269 1.662     40 laps
10 Jenson Button  McLaren 1:16.325 1.718     46 laps
11 Nico Hulkenberg  Force India 1:16.487 1.880 49 laps
12 Fernando Alonso  McLaren 1:16.723 2.116     43 laps
13 Esteban Gutierrez  Haas F1 Team 1:16.782 2.175 40 laps
14 Valtteri Bottas  Williams 1:16.849 2.242     47 laps
15 Romain Grosjean  Haas F1 Team 1:16.874 2.267 23 laps
16 Felipe Massa  Williams 1:17.286 2.679     42 laps
17 Kevin Magnussen  Renault F1 Team 1:17.530 2.923 29 laps
18 Marcus Ericsson  Sauber 1:17.562 2.955     39 laps
19 Jolyon Palmer  Renault F1 Team 1:17.761 3.154 24 laps
20 Felipe Nasr  Sauber     1:17.999 3.392     49 laps
21 Rio Haryanto  Manor Racing 1:18.647 4.040     10 laps
22 Pascal Wehrlein  Manor Racing 1:18.814 4.207 46 laps