Friday Report - Hamilton leads another Ferrari 1-2

Lewis Hamilton
© Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton completed a perfect Friday for Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix by topping second practice, as Lando Norris retired early from the session.

Hamilton set a 1m13.026s to beat team-mate Charles Leclerc by 0.111s, giving Ferrari its second 1-2 of the day after Leclerc led FP1.

Ferrari again looked strong around Monaco’s slow-speed layout, with Leclerc moving to the front on mediums after an early virtual safety car caused by Norris stopping at the Nouvelle Chicane.

The McLaren driver’s session ended after just 12 minutes with an issue on his MCL40, leaving him without a representative FP2 time.

Leclerc’s 1m13.613s briefly stood as the benchmark before the soft-tyre runs began. Max Verstappen then moved ahead with a 1m13.467s, later improving to 1m13.194s, while George Russell also put Mercedes into contention with a 1m13.515s.

Ferrari waited before showing its full pace on softs. Leclerc first posted a 1m13.137s, before Hamilton lowered the mark to 1m13.026s, a time that remained unbeaten through the final 22 minutes.

The session ended under a late red flag when Sergio Perez’s Cadillac stopped at Casino Square with smoke coming from the car.

Verstappen finished third on a 1m13.194s, ahead of Russell’s 1m13.515s. Kimi Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes, 0.503s off Hamilton’s pace.

Isack Hadjar recovered from his FP1 crash to take sixth with a 1m14.087s, just 0.001s ahead of Oscar Piastri’s 1m14.088s for McLaren.

Nico Hulkenberg was eighth on a 1m14.094s, with Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto ninth on a 1m14.359s. Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 for Haas with a 1m14.456s.