Ricciardo, Red Bull lead through red-flagged Monaco FP2
Daniel Ricciardo set the pace once again through second Formula 1 practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday, heading up a one-two finish for Red Bull Racing for the second session in a row.
Ricciardo recorded a new track record for the existing Monaco layout through FP1 on Thursday morning, but was able to find yet more time in the afternoon, shaving two-tenths of a second off his lap time.
Daniel Ricciardo set the pace once again through second Formula 1 practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday, heading up a one-two finish for Red Bull Racing for the second session in a row.
Ricciardo recorded a new track record for the existing Monaco layout through FP1 on Thursday morning, but was able to find yet more time in the afternoon, shaving two-tenths of a second off his lap time.
The Australian’s lap of 1m11.841s on the Hypersoft tyre gave him P1 by almost two-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Max Verstappen, as Ferrari and Mercedes once again struggled to match the pace of the Red Bulls.
Most of the teams were forced to adapt their run programmes through FP2 following a 15-minute red flag delay for track repairs after part of the circuit came up on the run between Casino Square and Mirabeau.
Sebastian Vettel finished the session as the best of the rest behind the Red Bulls, taking P3 for Ferrari after lapping half a second slower than Ricciardo, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton taking fourth overall. Their respective teammates, Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas, finished fifth and sixth-fastest.
Nico Hulkenberg was the top midfielder in P7 for Renault as teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top 10. Sainz was fortunate to escape major damage after touching the wall at Tabac, clipping it with his right-rear tyre.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso both charged into the top 10 for McLaren, finishing eighth and ninth respectively between the two Renault drivers.
Brendon Hartley continued his solid start to the weekend by finishing 11th for Toro Rosso, with teammate Pierre Gasly taking P14. The two Toro Rosso were split by Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon in 12th and 13th.
Sergey Sirotkin grabbed P15 for Williams ahead of Kevin Magnussen and home favourite Charles Leclerc, as Romain Grosjean took 18th in the second Haas. Lance stroll wound up 19th, while Marcus Ericsson propped up the standings in P20.
With Friday acting as a rest day in Monaco, the cars will hit the track in anger again on Saturday during FP3.
