Formula 1: Leclerc went deep in his Ferrari in Monaco and Ricciardo threatened all the punches

Charles Leclerc feels at home this Friday, dominating two training sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix, the seventh competition of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The good walk of the young local driver is in contrast to the severe accident he starred in with Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who was not hurt, even though his McLaren was badly damaged.

Leclerc, who has yet to finish a race in his three starts at the Monte-Carlo street circuit, stopped the clock at 1m12.656s in a best 29 laps in the second training session. The day for Ferrari was at its best, as the second best record was owned by Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was in 44th thousandth behind his teammate.

Behind the two red cars ended up two Red Bull cars. Mexican Sergio Pérez had the third fastest time, 379 thousandths behind Leclerc, while the fourth fastest time went to Dutchman Max Verstappen, who came to Monaco at the top of the championship after his victory. in Barcelona on Sunday.

Before this season’s four animators could show off their best weapons, the session was suspended for 10 minutes as a result of an accident involving Ricciardo, winner of the stunning Monegasque track in 2018.

The Australian, who has a poor season so far (he has only collected 11 points), had a good first round, where he finished seventh. But on his first fast lap attempt in the second half of the day he stepped on one of the curbs in the pool area, lost control of his vehicle and ended up crashing into a retaining wall.

Immediately red flags appeared stopping the activity. “Don’t worry. I’m glad you’re okay. We’ll fix the car”, one of the engineers tried to stabilize the radio pilot. “I’ll explain what happened when I returned (to the pits),” answer of the Australian, who was able to leave McLaren alone.Ten minutes later, when the runway was restored, it reopened.

Earlier, in the first training session, Leclerc was also the fastest: he set a record of 1: 14.531 for the fastest in his 28 laps, and lost 39 thousandths. Czech Pérez and for 70 in Sainz. Verstappen finished fourth, 181 thousandths behind his championship rival.

On a hot day, where the thermometer showed 31 degrees in the atmosphere and 54 on the track, that first session also had to be delayed a few minutes to remove Mick Schumacher’s Haas, which was stuck, from the entrance to the pit. . lane.

The next activity call on the 3,337 -meter circuit located on the Côte d’Azur will be on Saturday at 8, when the third training session will take place. Starting at 11 a.m., a classification test will be conducted that will dictate the grid for Sunday’s competition.