The second free practice session started under the warm Monégasque sun, making the conditions more representative for both the cars and the drivers. A few of them had already received the first tips over the radio while waiting in the garage, knowing that in Monaco you have to be on top of your game from the very start.
Wehrlein was the first driver to set a relatively fast lap on the timesheets with a 1:29.592. He, along with Rowland and the McLaren team, seemed the most comfortable out there for the first half of the session, swapping out the fastest times among themselves. Frijns couldn’t say the same, with a snap on his lap, that forced him to battle his car to stay on the course.
On the other side of the timesheets, both Lola Yamaha cars sat in P21 and P22 for Maloney and di Grassi, respectively. In Monaco, getting those laps under your belt is important to get to know every single centimeter of the track you can use to your advantage. Some drivers had already gone over that limit though, with lap times deleted frequently in the chicane at the pool section.
In the second half of the session, the lap times started dropping further, with Ticktum setting an impressive 1:26.779 with 12 minutes left on the clock. Nobody was able to top that time for the rest of FP2.
While his fans could be happy and hope for the first podium, for the fans of da Costa, it was a different story. The director chose to play his radio, in which he was heard complaining about both oversteer and understeer on the same lap. At a circuit like this, where you have to trust the machine 100% to be fast, the unpredictability is sure to cost him some lap time.
A similar thing can be said for Jaguar, which is admittedly having a terrible year so far. For Evans, who finished the morning session down in P17, Monaco is one of his strongest circuits, having won here last year. He went on to prove why and posted a time worthy of P2, although it didn’t last, as Dennis and Mortara overtook him seconds later. His final P4 is still worth the mention, knowing the team is currently sitting last in the championship.
Hughes went off track in Sainte Devote, having some trouble getting back on track afterwards. Mortara was another unhappy driver, having experienced some traffic on his flying lap, but still ending up in P3. Combined with Nyck de Vries just a few positions down in P6, Mahindra seems to be on the right track here.
With over a minute to go, Vergne locked up his rear tyres and went straight into Sainte Devote as well, the turn infamous for catching drivers unprepared.
Nobody ended up posting a faster time than Ticktum did, which makes the gap of 8 tenths to his teammate down in P15 even more impressive. At the checkered flag, it’s Ticktum, Dennis, Mortara, Evans, and Rowland for the top 5 of the session, nicely slotting five different teams one after another and promising an exciting day ahead.