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Alsharq Tribune- M.Essam
Charles Leclerc delighted the home crowd and was fastest in both practices on Friday for his home Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Friday.
After topping the first session despite a crash, the Ferrari driver was 0.609 seconds faster in second practice, clocking 1 minute 11.355 seconds.
Drivers' championship leader Oscar Piastri was second in the McLaren, just 0.038s behind Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari completed the top three. Ferrari have struggled so far this season, despite the addition of seven-time world champion Hamilton to their line-up.
Their only podium finish this year was Leclerc's third place in Saudi Arabia in April. But the Italian outfit will hope the Monegasque can repeat last year's performance, when he won his home race for the first time after a series of misfortunes.
Lando Norris in the other McLaren was fourth, while four-time defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was 10th.
The session was interrupted twice. The first red flag came out after Racing Bulls' rookie Isack Hadjar clipped the inside barrier into the chicane and knocked the tyre off his wheel rim.
Piastri then caused another red flag as he made an unusual mistake, left up and crashed, destroying his front wing in the process.
Lance Stroll of Aston Martin was handed a six-place grid penalty for Sunday's Grand Prix for causing a collision with Leclerc in the first practice.
The red flag was brought out with some 10 minutes into the session due to the debris on track after the incident.
Stroll pulled over to let another driver through, went back onto the racing line, and Leclerc just ended up going into the back of him into the hairpin.
Due to the sustained car damage, both remained in their respective garages for some time once the session restarted.
While Stroll didn't return to the track, Leclerc clocked the fastest time.
Following a review of the incident, the stewards determined that Stroll was “wholly to blame.”
For the Monaco GP this year, drivers must use at least three different sets of tyres, which means a minimum of two visits to the pit lane, as F1 tries to add some excitement to the Monaco event.
Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the disqualification from the race result.
The tight and twisty track around Monte Carlo means there aren't many overtaking opportunities and the race is usually a one-stop affair. In Monaco, a first place in qualifying usually also means a first place in the race.
Piastri tops the drivers' standings with 146 points, 13 ahead of Norris.
Qualifying for the race on Saturday after the final practice.
