Max tenth in FP2 in Monaco: 'I'm confident we can be closer'

Published on 23 May 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen has finished the second free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix in tenth place. After taking second place in the first practice, the Dutchman had to settle for a lower position in this session. Charles Leclerc was once again the fastest, followed by Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris and Liam Lawson completed the top five in Monaco.

Max generally looks back on this Friday with satisfaction: “FP1 was quite positive. We made some changes for FP2, to see how far we could push the balance. I think we overdid it a little bit. I couldn’t attack the corners the way I would like to. I don’t expect us to be the fastest, but we want to be a bit closer than we were in FP2. I'm quite confident that we can be a lot closer. The Ferraris look very fast; they took a big step forward.”

Max also struggled with traffic during the second free practice. He comments: “Monaco is always tricky with traffic. But two times today I think it was quite dangerous. One time in FP1, and one time in FP2. That’s not ideal. I know it’s just practice, but luckily everything went well.”

At the start of the second free practice, the air temperature is 23 degrees Celsius, with a track temperature of 41 degrees, slightly warmer than during the first session. When Max leaves the pit box, he asks whether he’s using the same helmet and visor as in the first session, which his team confirms. Right from the start of the session, it is busy in the pit lane and on the track. We see a mix of tyres being used, although the medium tyres dominate. Verstappen quickly sets a 1:12.922, putting him at the top of the timesheets. However, over the team radio, he reports problems with upshifting.

Then, Isack Hadjar causes a red flag. The RB driver clips the barrier with his left rear tyre as he exits the tunnel. Fortunately, he manages to drive his car back to the pit box, so the red flag is replaced by a yellow, which is lifted shortly thereafter. Max drops further down the timing charts and expresses his frustration with other drivers over the radio, after getting held up during a flying lap near the swimming pool section. After twenty minutes, Piastri causes the second red flag of the session when he goes straight on at Turn 1 and loses his front wing. He’s able to drive the car back to the pit lane. This red flag is also lifted after a few minutes.

Immediately afterward, we see some new quick lap times being set. Halfway through the session, the top five consists of Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc, Hülkenberg, and Russell. Alonso set his time on softs, Hamilton on mediums, and Leclerc on hards. When the Monegasque sets a flying lap on softs, he clocks a 1:11.414, putting him in first place. He shortly improves it to 1:11.355. With his next attempt, Max sets a 1:12.151, putting him seventh place. He later improves to a 1:12.068, but is still seven tenths off Leclerc’s time.

With ten minutes to go, Hadjar runs into trouble again, causing another brief yellow flag. At Turn 1, he hits the barriers after some oversteer, seemingly breaking the left rear suspension. His disappointment is clear over the radio. He makes it back to the pit lane but doesn’t return to the track.

Verstappen goes straight on at Turn 5 and can’t initially get the car into reverse. Eventually, he manages to do so and continues on. In the final moments of the session, everyone is focused on long runs. As a result, no further improvements are seen. Leclerc ends the session on top again, followed by Piastri and Hamilton. Norris and Lawson complete the top five for the second free practice in Monaco.

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Results second free practice Monaco: