Hometown hero Charles Leclerc surprised fans with his Ferrari’s pace during practice at the F1 Monaco GP. Leclerc topped both FP1 and FP2, showing rapid pace in the scarlet car. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton also made a top three appearance during the second practice session.
Going into the weekend, the team appeared to be unconfident with their package. Imola saw both Ferrari drivers knocked out in Q2 of qualifying. Both drivers showed strong pace during the chaotic race, with Hamilton and Leclerc finishing P4 and P6, respectively. Leclerc warned others about being overly optimistic about their chances of scoring a second win at the F1 Monaco GP.
“Maybe a bit less convinced but yeah, I’m not convinced the other way either.
“A Friday in Monaco is always very special, very specific, I think everybody is taking a bit their reference. It is too early to feel very positive about the weekend.”
Leclerc and Stroll collide during FP1
During the first practice session, Leclerc had an incident with Lance Stroll at the F1 Monaco GP. The Aston Martin driver got off the racing line into the hairpin as a Mercedes past him on a flying lap. Stroll did not notice Leclerc behind as he joined back onto the racing line. Stroll was handed a one-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Leclerc. Leclerc described frustration with the incident, but stated that the remainder of practice went smoothly.
“But let’s say the Friday has been very positive for us, I’ve been feeling pretty good with the car. It hasn’t started the way I wanted with the crash with Lance [Stroll] but after that it has been pretty smooth and I’m happy overall with the car.”
Hamilton finishes P3 during FP2
Hamilton finished one tenth behind Leclerc during FP2 at the F1 Monaco GP, expressing confidence in his practice performance. He believed there can be more pace extracted from the car, as seen through his teammate’s performance.
“It went smoothly, FP1 was still a bit of a challenge with traffic and everything, FP2 was much, much better. I have a little bit of time to find, Charles [Leclerc] was still very quick but otherwise, a good session.
“There is more to find in my driving, in lines, in my braking. I got one tenth for example just in Turn 1.
“So, there are bits here and there, just throughout the lap. But the car, there are subtle changes we need to make but I will not be making many changes at all.”
