Leclerc tops FP2 in Monaco as mistakes creep in for others

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets during Free Practice 2 at the Monaco Grand Prix, in a session that was disrupted by a red flag due to a crash for Daniel Ricciardo, while others suffered narrow escapes.

Leclerc set the pace with a time of 1:12.656 on the Soft tyre, while teammate Carlos Sainz was less than a tenth of a second back in P2.

Sergio Perez claimed third, ahead of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in fourth.

Verstappen was one of the first to get out on track in the hour, having missed the final minutes of Free Practice 1 earlier after picking up a flat spot thanks to a lock-up at Sainte Devote.

Elsewhere, Ferrari opted for a different strategy by running the Hard tyre to begin with, given that they had focused on the Medium compound in FP1.

Both teams showed strong pace as they traded times at the top of the timesheets during the session, but Leclerc was leading the way after the qualifying simulation runs.

The local boy held onto P1 to the end of FP2, but it proved to be a scrappy hour for some.

Trouble for Ricciardo – and lucky escapes for others

Around one quarter of the way into Free Practice 2, a red flag was brought out after Ricciardo crashed his McLaren.

Going into Tabac, the Australian seemed to pick up some understeer and hit the barriers. The front wing was knocked off his MCL36 in the process.

Ricciardo reported that he was okay over the radio, and told his engineer that he would explain what happened when he returned to the garage. This incident left him without a time on the board in the session.

He wasn't the only one to have a bit of a moment in FP2, with no shortage of mistakes creeping in during the hour.

Sebastian Vettel narrowly avoided a kiss with the wall when he suffered a heavy slide after losing the rear of his Aston Martin. It was a lucky escape for the four-time World Champion.

Elsewhere, Lando Norris asked his team to check his car after telling them that he had hit the wall at Turn 1, while George Russell pitted due to having "brushed" the barrier at Turn 12.

Better news for drivers who missed out in FP1

There was good news for two drivers who had difficulties in FP1. Mick Schumacher was able to hit the track in FP2, having missed much of the day's earlier session due to technical issues.

Haas completed MGU-K and gearbox changes on the German's VF-22 before sending him out in Friday's second practice hour.

Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas also got back out on the circuit after spending much of FP1 in the garage, enabling him to get some much-needed preparation in ahead of Saturday's qualifying session.