2022 F1 Monaco GP FP2: What did we learn? 

FP2 for the Monaco GP is done and dusted. Unlike the traditional Monaco GP where the FP2 session used to take place on Thursday and the teams would have a Friday in between to work things out, this time that's not the case. Teams do not have an extra day and early impressions do indicate that some of them would have needed it.

The session more or less ran like clockwork except for the crash suffered by Daniel Ricciardo that brought out a red flag. Other than that, once again, we had Charles Leclerc topping the charts with authority this time around and a whole lot of surprises. So, what did we learn in FP2 for the Monaco GP? Well, let's find out!

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Monaco GP FP2: What did we learn?

#1 Charles Leclerc-Ferrari combo looks ominous for the Monaco GP

If we go by aesthetics, Red Bull looks like the car to have at the moment. It looks stable, doesn't bounce much, and has arguably the best onboard of all the cars. When it comes to speed, however, Ferrari seems to have it all figured out. Max Verstappen was close to half a second slower than Charles Leclerc during FP2 and that's not for the lack of trying. The Red Bull driver just couldn’t extract any more time from his car.

At the moment, Verstappen is probably not as comfortable in the car as his teammate Sergio Perez is and it shows in the lap time. Even if we account for that, the Leclerc-Ferrari combo looks very, very strong for the Monaco GP weekend.

#2 Mercedes is back to its old habits

Yes, you heard it right! That Mercedes car is back to doing what it should not be doing on the race track: BOUNCE. As soon as Mercedes hit the track in FP1, it suffered from porpoising just like it used to before Barcelona. While there was an expectation that the German giant would be able to sort this out for FP2, that, however, is not the case.

George Russell was 6th in the standings while Lewis Hamilton was 12th and that should tell you that the team is in trouble at the moment. Mercedes has regressed and at best, it is the fourth fastest team on the grid.

#3 McLaren works great around Monaco

Keeping aside the crash suffered by Daniel Ricciardo and the rather strange team radio exchange between the driver and his engineer, the session had a lot of positives for McLaren. By the looks of it, the Woking-based squad has produced a car that is very competitive in the medium to slow-speed corners but takes the dump in the fast-speed sections.

To an extent, this does explain the team's drop in form in the last two races. Regardless, McLaren is back and at least in the hands of Lando Norris, it does look like the third-fastest car on the grid.

#4 So does AlphaTauri!

Pierre Gasly must be roaring within his crash helmet after both the FP sessions for the Monaco GP are done and dusted. The AlphaTauri driver was within the top-10 for both sessions. This is not a result of glory run later in the session, rather it is a true reflection of the pace that the car possesses.

Similar to McLaren, the Red Bull sister team appears to have a car that comes alive in the slow-medium speed sections of the track. So even though Yuki Tsunoda is somewhat playing catchup with Gasly, the car looks very competitive here.

#5 Drivers will make a difference in qualifying

Fernando Alonso was P8 after FP2, and his teammate Esteban Ocon was P18. Sebastian Vettel was P9, his teammate Lance Stroll was P16, Kevin Magnussen was P11 while his teammate Mick Schumacher was P17.

Other than Esteban Ocon, who has often chopped down the gap in qualifying to Alonso, the gaps for the two other sets of drivers seem genuine and worrying as well. One reason is the fact that not only talent but experience is also playing a massive role this weekend. And in qualifying as well, experience is going to play a huge role. Irrespective of the car, you're going to see a few surprises for the Monaco GP. Keep an eye on drivers like Alonso and Vettel tomorrow!