Almost the entire field opened their lap records on medium tyres, save for the monocoque Ferrari duo, and ownership of the fastest lap quickly changed hands as time went on.

Valtteri Bottas was one of the first drivers to set a representative time, but it didn’t last long as the track continued to roll in. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the best times of 1:15 until Verstappen leapt to the top with a time of 1:15.487.

George Russell moved up to the top spot by 0.005s, but Bottas regained the bragging rights before he was quickly replaced by Esteban Ocon.

The Frenchman was passed by Alonso, who was almost a second quicker, before Verstappen took the race to 1:13 with a time of 1:13.985.

Alonso tried to knock the Dutchman down but his 1m14.227s fell in the final zone as his opening volley was initially faster. Hamilton made it to the top, just 0.001s ahead of his 2021 title rival, but Verstappen passed the Briton with a time of 1m 13.857s.

Verstappen’s next effort showed his control, finishing with a medium compound run of 1m13.567s followed by 1m13.312s.

On the soft tyres, Alonso passed him with a time of 1m 12.786s and held on for a full 10 minutes before compatriot Carlos Sainz regained his time in the opening practice session with a time of 1m 12.569s leading grades.

Although Verstappen started his soft run with the best first stint, he lost ground in the ensuing stints and his car shot up to third, ahead of Charles Leclerc – who was struggling to get his The car “jumps” through tighter corners.

Alonso also set the fastest first stage in another race on soft tyres, but lost ground due to traffic jams on the final lap, when he was unable to overtake Sainz – 0.113 seconds off the best time.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures

After a better lap the next time around, Verstappen recorded 1m12.462s, despite not setting any purple zones on that particular incline.

Leclerc finished within a tenth of Verstappen in a strong Tour of Monte Carlo and beat teammate Sainz for second.

Sainz was then shown the red flag after messing with his line on the exit of the pool, pinching the inside wall and resting in the barrier to force a stoppage as his right front suspension failed.

The race restarted with 12 minutes to go when the stricken Ferrari was cleaned up by Ferrari, but there was no further performance as the race became the focus for the remainder of the race.

That cemented Verstappen’s top spot within a tenth of Leclerc’s best finish of the race, while Sainz was unable to improve to third after his crash.

Alonso was fourth, just two tenths ahead of Lando Norris – who was delayed at the start of the race due to an apparent electrical problem requiring repairs in the McLaren garage. The Briton’s car later suffered further problems and was asked to minimize throttle input before an unwelcome return to the pits.

Hamilton took his Mercedes to sixth, admitting there was no way he could go faster, with Sergio Perez seventh on the clock board.

Valtteri Bottas beats two Alpinists for eighth; Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon round out the top ten, just behind Aston Martin Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Alex Albon managed to get on the track at the resume after extensive repairs to his Williams FW45, which crashed at the end of FP1, and passed team-mate Logan Sargeant for a best 19th place finish at the end of the race.

F1 Monaco GP FP2 Results