Max P6 in Monaco FP2: "Pretty good day"

Published on 25 May 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen followed up his third place in FP1 with a sixth place in the second free practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) was quickest, followed by Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) and Vettel’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

“It was a pretty good day. We’re not too far off and kept the car out of the wall. You can’t take it easy here, because you’ll be last. So everyone is pushing”, said Max. “This morning I damaged the floor at the swimming pool, but we’re not sure what exactly went wrong. But all in all, we had a good day.”

Eight minutes into FP2, Esteban Ocon is the first driver to hit trouble. At Portier, his Force India hits the wall. Despite a damaged front suspension, the Frenchman is able to nurse the car back to the pits.

Renault’s Jolyon Palmer is the next driver with problems. After smoke appears from the rear of the car, he is forced to park his Renault at the entrance of the tunnel.

In the meantime, Max has been out on track but complains about the gearbox. “The car doesn’t feel right on the downshifts.”

The next driver to get caught out by the tricky Monte Carlo street circuit is Marcus Ericsson. Despite a shunt with the barriers, the Sauber driver is able to bring the car back to his team.

Halfway through the session, Mercedes appears to have problems getting the tyres up to temperature. The team has chosen the wrong direction for their set up, which is reflected in their positions with Lewis Hamilton in eighth and Valterri Bottas in tenth.

Ferrari appear to have the dialed in the car with Vettel setting the pace on the ultra soft tyres. He is the first driver to break the 1:13 mark.

With roughly forty minutes to go, Lance Stroll causes a code red. The Canadian crashes into the barrier at Casino Square after losing the rear of his Williams.

Max has a minor kerfuffle with Romain Grosjean going into La Rascasse. Max attempts to overtake the Frenchman into La Rascasse but the Haas driver shuts the door. Not too long after, Max still struggles on the down shifts. “Unbelievable, what is this? The downshifts still don’t work the way they are suppose to work”, reports Max on the radio.

In the closing stages the lap times remain mostly unbeaten due to most teams running used tyres. It means Sebastian Vettel is fastest, followed by Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen.

Monaco GP - Monte Carlo - Thursday 25 May

FREE PRACTICE 2 RESULTS

01  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:12.720          38
02  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:13.207 +0.487s  35
03  7 Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari                     1:13.283 +0.563s  46
04 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:13.331 +0.611s  41
05 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:13.400 +0.680s  43
06 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:13.486 +0.766s  36
07 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:13.799 +1.079s  45
08 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:13.873 +1.153s  31
09 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:13.890 +1.170s  46
10 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:13.902 +1.182s  39
11  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:13.946 +1.226s  42
12 22 Jenson Button       McLaren Honda               1:13.981 +1.261s  37
13 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:14.003 +1.283s  46
14  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:14.022 +1.302s  44
15 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:14.093 +1.373s  47
16 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:14.474 +1.754s  27
17 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:14.870 +2.150s  41
18 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:15.616 +2.896s   8
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:15.691 +2.971s  32
20 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:15.695 +2.975s  37 

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