The Scuderia can be smiling at the end of the day since its second driver, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, took the second time at the end of the second practice session, 44/1000th only behind Leclerc.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Monegasque had already set the best time in free practice 1, under around 30 degrees, a heat which in no way foreshadows the weather conditions for the weekend, with rain expected on Sunday for the race.

"We still have to fine-tune the balance but, overall, it wasn't too bad and we just have to take the step from Friday to Saturday now", reacted Leclerc, who already hopes to be able to "give a good result to our tifosi".

Further on, the Red Bulls of Mexican Sergio Pérez, third, and Dutchman Max Verstappen, currently leader of the championship, are respectively 379/1000 and 447/1000 from the strong man of the day at the end of the second session. of trials.

"Clearly compared to Ferrari we still need to find more pace, so now it's a matter of getting the settings right and finding a better balance," said Verstappen, who won the Monaco round last year.

If he hopes to repeat his performance on Sunday, "the track is different this year with the new cars, the cars are a little heavier and slower and a little bumpier".

Max Verstappen driving his Red Bull on the Monaco street circuit, May 27, 2022 ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFP

Eyes "pop out of sockets"

A feeling shared by the seven-time world champion in the discipline Lewis Hamilton: "I fought for a lap today and it's a very different experience from previous years here in Monaco. At the time, I remember coming here with lighter and more agile cars, but now they are much heavier, and that changes the driving experience a lot".

"It's probably the bumpiest circuit I've ever driven - at times I feel like my eyeballs are popping out of their sockets because of the bumps," even admitted the Briton, who doesn't did not do better than the 10th time on his Mercedes for this first day, during the first session.

As for the French drivers, Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), in difficulty since the start of the season, seems to have regained some color in Monaco since he snatched from 7th time at the end of the day, ahead of the Alpine of the Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W13 during Monaco GP practice, May 27, 2022 ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFP

"The pace of the car has been there, and we've been in the top midfield all day. So far we've shown a lot of positives, we've had a lot of clean laps (...) I'm quite happy and we'll try to take another step forward for tomorrow", promised the Norman.

The other Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) did no better than 16th in the first practice session.

"We learned a lot today by opting for different settings on the two cars, and a lot of work awaits us tonight in order to be in a better position tomorrow," he explained.

Charles Lecerc now hopes to lead his domination until the end of the GP on Sunday.

"Let's hope this year is the right one" he repeated again on Friday morning.

So far, "his" circuit has never really smiled on him since at home, the Monegasque has always had to give up since 2017 after technical problems or clashes.

Esteban Ocon driving his Alpine single-seater during Monaco GP testing, May 27, 2022 ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFP

What if the rain comes on Sunday?

"If the conditions are more complicated in the rain", he admits, "it will not change my approach".

"The visibility will also mean that there won't be a lot of overtaking," he explains.

Hence the need to secure pole position on Saturday.

© 2022 AFP