Monaco GP: Charles Leclerc seals practice double in Monaco as Ferrari top Red Bull

Charles Leclerc tops Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz in Practice Two; Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen unable to match speed; Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle; Watch Practice Three live on Sky Sports F1 at 12pm on Saturday, with Qualifying following from 2pm

Charles Leclerc topped both practice sessions on Friday in Monaco

Charles Leclerc sealed a practice double on Friday at the Monaco GP as a Ferrari one-two in the day’s second session appeared to put them a step ahead of Red Bull.

Having appeared tightly matched with Red Bull in the opening session, Ferrari separated themselves from their title rivals in P2, as Leclerc edged team-mate Carlos Sainz by less than half a tenth.

Sergio Perez beat World Championship leader Max Verstappen to third, with both Red Bulls three to four tenths back from the Ferraris.

Lewis Hamilton endured a nightmare day as the seven-time world champion failed to build on progress made at last weekend’s Spanish GP as he finished 12th, almost a full second behind his Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who was sixth behind the impressive McLaren of Lando Norris.

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Daniel Ricciardo lost control of his McLaren and crashed into the barriers in practice two at the Monaco Grand Prix

It wasn’t all good news for McLaren though, with a heavy crash for Daniel Ricciardo at the Swimming Pool section ending his session after just 15 minutes and bringing out a red flag that caused a brief delay.

Ricciardo’s incident appeared somewhat inevitable, as almost all the drivers struggled to manage 2022’s new bigger cars on the famous narrow Monte Carlo streets for the first time.

Several drivers needed to use to the run-off area at the first corner, Sainte Devote, Sebastian Vettel almost crashed at the Swimming Pool moments before Ricciardo’s incident, while both Norris and Russell reported contact with the barrier, which they appeared to get away with.

More to follow…