iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
As soaring temperatures across England forced the need for water breaks at all this weekend's Premier League games, it was City who were on fire at the Etihad as promoted Bournemouth were blown away
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Leclerc sets the pace in unforgiving Monaco
Red Bull’s Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen was fourth in both sessions, with teammate Sergio Perez second and third
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc drives during the second practice session at the Monaco street circuit on Friday. — AFP
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in practice for his home Monaco Grand Prix on Friday, while former winner Daniel Ricciardo crashed his McLaren in a nightmare start to the Australian’s weekend.
Leclerc led teammate Carlos Sainz in a one-two in the second session, lapping the unforgiving street circuit with a fastest lap of one minute 12.656 seconds on a hot and sunny afternoon.
He was 0.044 quicker than the Spaniard, with the local favourite also fastest in a crash-free first practice with a time of 1:14.531.
Red Bull’s Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen was fourth in both sessions, with teammate Sergio Perez second and third.
Leclerc, 24, took pole position for the race last year but was unable to start due to a driveshaft problem, with Verstappen going on to win.
The Monegasque is six points behind Verstappen after retiring from last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix but hoping to take back the lead on Sunday and become the first driver from the principality to score points at home since Louis Chiron finished third in 1950. Lando Norris was fifth in both sessions for McLaren, after resting this week to recover from tonsillitis.
Ricciardo, winner with Red Bull in 2018, failed to set a time in the second after crashing into the barriers at the Swimming Pool chicane and bringing out the red flags with 45 minutes remaining.
He was already under pressure after McLaren boss Zak Brown said the Australian, who won at Monza last year, was not generally meeting the team’s expectations.
George Russell was the fastest Mercedes driver in sixth place in the second session, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton 10th and 12th and testing a range of settings to tame his bouncing car.
“It’s so bouncy out here, man I am losing my mind,” said the Briton during the opening stint.
“I need elbow pads in this cockpit it’s bouncing so much.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had warned earlier in the week that the seventh race of the 22-round season could be a tricky one for his team.
“Monaco hasn’t always been our happiest track, and slow-speed corners haven’t been our strength this season as we saw in Barcelona,” he said, referring to the previous race in Spain last weekend.
Mick Schumacher stopped his Haas on track with a gearbox problem in the first session but returned for the second as did Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, who failed to complete a lap earlier due to technical problems.
More news from Sports
Goals from Danny Ings and Emi Buendia eased the pressure on Gerrard after a run of two wins in their previous 12 games dating back to last season
Spurs lost four times to Chelsea last season, including three defeats, two in the League Cup semifinal followed by one in the league, in January
French international striker Karim Benzema is the overwhelming favourite after being the architect of Real Madrid’s 14th Champions League title
The Aspire control and command centre will monitor all stadiums at once, as Qatar pulls out all the technical stops to keep an eye on the anticipated one million plus visitors from the moment they get off the plane to moment they leave
Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Trent Boult are set to join ahead of the inaugural edition
Ahmed flew to Switzerland for what he thought was a training programme with his coach
Held under the slogan “To the Summits, People of Determination”, the 2022 edition featured 280 activities, most notably sports events