EL2 in Monaco: Hamilton does it again and takes a Mercedes double

If Free Practice 1 had raised hopes of a fight between Mercedes et Red Bull, the second free session on Thursday came to temporarily calm this wind of optimism as the German team once again seems set to dominate its subject in the Principality this weekend. 

Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas exchanged the best laps before the Briton stopped the clock with a quick 1'11''118, 81 thousandths ahead of its Finnish garage neighbor. The closest rival of the gray house is more than seven tenths behind: it is the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel. For his home appointment, Charles Leclerc was more discreet with only the 10th fastest time at the wheel of his SF90. 

Encouraging performance for Pierre Gasly, who lifts his Red Bull to 4th place, however 0”820 behind the reference time. The Frenchman precedes a surprising Alexander albon (Toro Rosso) and his teammate Max Verstappen. Kevin Magnussen finished 7th after the radio and telemetry problems encountered by Haas in EL1. The Dane takes both in his wake Alfa Romeo by Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Räikkönen. 

In the tricolor clan, Romain Grosjean fails in 11th place, while the Renault de Nico Hulkenberg et Daniel Ricciardo are relegated to 16th and 17th position. The Yellows-and-Blacks only precede the Racing Point by Lance stroll and the modest Williams. 

No Renault engine appears in the Top 10 since the McLaren are experiencing a new timid session with the 12th and 13th beats of Lando Norris et Carlos Sainz, whose thruster is equipped with a new battery after the problems that arose in the morning.