Leclerc takes over fastest time and becomes favorite ahead of Verstappen.
At the beginning of Monaco GP, Max Verstappen encounters some issues. The F1 champion complains about his vehicle and ends up crashing into barriers. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari is set for his first win there.
Charles Leclerc showcased a fantastic start at his home Grand Prix in Monaco. As the Ferrari driver clocked the fastest lap of the day during free practice, he harbored dreams of a debut victory: Leclerc has never emerged victorious in Monaco, not even in F1 since 2018, or in lower tiers before that.
Leclerc is now among the top contenders for the essential qualifying session on Saturday at the street circuit (4pm/RTL and Sky, and live updates on ntv.de). While it's hard to predict the outcome, he's looking positive. The front-runners in the practice sessions were a motley crew, with Leclerc leading, followed by Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes, Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin, Verstappen in Red Bull, and Lando Norris in McLaren. Only Hamilton, who was only two hundredths of a second slower, managed to keep up the pace.
Verstappen faces car setup challenges and cornering difficulties
Verstappen, however, grappled with his vehicle's settings in both sessions throughout the day. The defending champion found it uncomfortable while navigating the winding corners, communicating his displeasure to the team. In the second practice session, he came dangerously close to crashing into the barrier before the tunnel. By the end of the day, Verstappen was half a second behind Leclerc.
Red Bull faces a difficult task ahead of Saturday's fight for pole position. Verstappen has secured the top spot on the starting grid eight times in a row, a record that surpasses Ayrton Senna's. And it could significantly boost his prospects in Monaco, where overtaking is nearly impossible.
However, the pattern from the last two races seems to be repeating in Monaco as well: Verstappen has been struggling with stronger competitors lately. In the championship standings, he's 48 points ahead of Leclerc and 60 points behind Norris, who's been displaying remarkable prowess recently.
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Source: www.ntv.de
