
Qualifying for the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco on Saturday at 16:00 promises to be fierce, intense and torrid, if the two free practice sessions held on Friday in the streets of the Principality are anything to go by. These two sessions enabled Scuderia Ferrari to show that it might be capable of beating the odds on Sunday, at the 82nd edition of the most prestigious Grand Prix on the F1 calendar.
Charles Leclerc ahead of Oscar Piastri (2nd), the championship leader thanks to four wins in seven races, Lewis Hamilton (3rd) ahead of Lando Norris (4th), the other driver of the British team, gave the Scuderia a small psychological advantage on Friday, while testing all sorts of set-ups and tyres, from the softest to the hardest.
Another surprising result from the 2nd session of the day was that the two Racing Bulls rookies, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, finished just behind, in 5th and 6th places, (Ferrari), while the young Frenchman, who twice hit the safety rail, at the Port chicane and at Sainte Dévote, only completed 17 laps, compared with around thirty for his most assiduous rivals. It was the other big surprise of the day, as nobody expected them to be at such a high level, especially the New Zealander, who was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing after just a few races.
Friday’s disappointment came from Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), who finished the session six tenths of a second behind Leclerc, on the verge of the Top 10, after losing long minutes due to a problem that is as yet unknown, without having made a mistake like many others today. The other big satisfaction for Mercedes was the level of 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli, who spent a long time in the Top 3 of this 2nd session.
For this 8th round (out of 24) of the 2025 season, it seems that the cards may be reshuffled, due to this very special track where the average speed is much slower than elsewhere. No one can make any predictions for Sunday, as the McLarens are not far behind the Ferraris, but one thing is certain: the tifosi will sleep well and have sweet dreams. That’s part of the magic of the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Monaco Grand Prix. The next big meeting is scheduled for Saturday at 4 pm, for a crucial qualifying session. We cannot wait.
📊 Check out the results from the second Free Practice session 🏎️
Once again, Charles Leclerc grabs the fastest lap of this session 👀
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📊 Voici les résultats de la deuxième séance d’essais libres 🏎️
Une fois encore Charles Leclerc réalise le meilleur temps de cette… pic.twitter.com/Fdwnf8pzgc
— Automobile Club de Monaco (@ACM_Media) May 23, 2025