Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Sainz too close to the sun

If it is rare to see all the drivers come out at the beginning of Free Practice 2, Monaco is a special circuit where it is important to do as much running as possible in order to fine-tune one’s feeling behind the wheel of their car. Having crashed into the barriers during the first practice session, Alexander Albon had to stay in the garage and watch his colleagues on track while waiting for his mechanics to repair his car. The Thai driver was not the only one stuck in the pit lane. Lando Norris was also standing in the garage watching his car being dissected. Fortunately for the McLaren driver, he was able to take to the track with 45 minutes remaining in the session.

Red Bull, the calm force

Feeling uncomfortable in his car, the engineers at Red Bull have done a remarkable job between the two practice sessions to help Max Verstappen regain confidence in his RB19. This was evidenced by setting numerous fast laps at the start of FP2. With 20 minutes remaining, the Dutchman held the top spot on the leaderboard with a time of 1’13’312. This lap stood as the new benchmark for the weekend. Despite strong attempts from rivals such as Fernando Alonso or Carlos Sainz, Verstappen was consistently able to reclaim the fastest lap with relative ease. The Austrian team has undoubtedly found the key to unlock their car’s performance.

Second in Free Practice 1, Fernando Alonso was the first driver on the grid to prepare for qualifying by using soft tires. With his red-banded tires, the Aston Martin driver clocked a 1’12’786 lap time. Almost 6 tenths faster than the championship leader, Max Verstappen’s lap time. Upon seeing the lap time of the Aston Martin driver, the rest of the grid mimicked the Spaniard and also went out on soft tires.

What to expect from the Alpine?

Struggling with the hard tires in Free Practice 1, the Alpine seemed much more comfortable with tires that provided good grip. Esteban Ocon confirmed this by setting the second fastest lap on his first attempt with soft tires. Both Alpines eventually finished in the Top 10. However, the strong performance of the French team should be taken with caution, as it has not been uncommon in the past for the team to unleash its cars more during Free Practice sessions than its competitors. This ability to get the softest tires in a good window could be a valuable weapon for the French team in qualifying.

Overconfidence for Carlos Sainz

First in Free Practice 1 and setting very promising lap times in this second session, the Spaniard had been performing remarkably well since the beginning of the weekend. The Spanish driver was able to keep up with his garage neighbor, Charles Leclerc, a historically fast driver in Monaco. This impressive ascent was cut short by an accident at the Piscine corner. Scratching the barriers with his right front wheel, the Ferrari, marked with the number 55, crashed into the rails with a dull sound, signaling the end of the session. This accident is even more regrettable as this weekend was an opportunity for the Madrileno to regain confidence after a lackluster start to the season. Now, it is hoped that Carlos Sainz’s confidence will not be too shaken for tomorrow’s qualifying session, which is likely to be the most crucial session of the weekend.

The Monaco stewards were doing a remarkable new job by extracting the red car in just a few minutes.

Rookies struggling on the Rock

Monaco is one of those circuits that puts the driver more in the spotlight than other tracks on the calendar. The winding streets allow the bravest drivers to take more risks and shine. Unfortunately, the rookies were relatively cautious during these FP2 sessions. Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri, and Nyck De Vries occupied the 20th, 18th, and 17th positions respectively.

Table of FP2