Leclerc and Sainz Jr. led the way.
MONTE CARLO, MONACO—In a season where just about everybody is following the battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, another name grabbed the headlines during Thursday’s practice sessions in Monaco–Ferrari. Home hero Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the day, clocking a 1:11:684. He finished just ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton finished in third.
Leclerc set his quickest time with 18 minutes to go in the session, catching everyone off guard as the other teams and drivers were going around the circuit more worried about their race setups for Sunday.
Leclerc drove with absolutely no traffic around him and held the fastest lap even when Mick Schumacher tapped his Haas into the wall at Massanet with 4:39 left in the session, bringing out the red flag as Schumacher parked the car right outside the chicane. The car had to be moved, although the vehicle was already out of the way of the track. But according to circuit rules, the car was still interfering, and officials had to stop the session. They finally ended it with still over four minutes to go.
Besides Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi got his Williams struck at the Hotel Hairpin, reversing his car to continue midway through the second session. Fernando Alonso struck his Alpine against the barriers at the last corner, just before the straightaway, bringing out a quick virtual safety car in session one.
For the rest of the top ten, Max Verstappen finished in fourth in his Red Bull, followed by Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas in fifth. Lando Norris took sixth in his McLaren, with Pierre Gasly seventh in the Alpha Tauri. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who had the quickest time in the morning session, was disappointed in the afternoon and took eighth. Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel, who are never in the top positions, finished ninth and tenth in the Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin entries, respectively.
This week’s schedule is different because the first two practice sessions were held on Thursday rather than Friday per convention. Practice 3 and qualifying are on tap for Saturday. Sunday, as always, is race day for the much anticipated Monaco Grand Prix. The big question is whether Ferrari can sustain the pace.
