Oscar Piastri has failed to make an impression in the opening practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Australian struggled to match the pace of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, clocking 1 minute and 14.088 seconds to be seventh in the second free practice session.
He was eighth in the first session.
Ferrari meanwhile has laid down a strong marker ahead of qualifying in Monaco, as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the two practice sessions.
“It felt OK, just not as speedy as we would like, unfortunately,” Piastri said.
“So a bit of a difficult one. We made a bit of progress in FP2 (second free practice session) but went from a second-and-a-half off to a second off, so it’s been a tough day for us, for sure.
“Some things to find overnight, definitely.
“We always expected Ferrari to be quick — and they look very, very quick — but we were hoping we’d be a fair bit closer.”
After five rounds of Mercedes dominance, the return to Europe on the twisty principality street circuit has been flagged as an opportunity for its rivals, with Ferrari tipped as favourites for Sunday race.
The Ferrari drivers lived up to their billing with Leclerc delighting the home fans by going quickest in the first run ahead of Hamilton, before the positions were flipped in the later session on a warm and sunny afternoon in the principality.
Lewis Hamilton topped the standings in the second practice session. (Getty Images: Manuel Eletto)
Three-time Monaco winner Hamilton, still hunting his first victory since joining Ferrari before the start of last season, clocked 1:13.026 in the second session, 0.111 ahead of 2024 winner Leclerc.
Leclerc had topped the charts with 1:13.978 earlier in the day, with Hamilton 0.226 back.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third in both sessions as he also showed he could be in the mix on Sunday.
But his teammate Isack Hadjar had a huge scare in the first practice as he slammed into the safety fencing on the exit of the swimming pool chicane.
Hadjar walked away unhurt.
World championship leader Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes teammate George Russell flipped fourth and fifth places in the two practice sessions.
It was a disappointing day for McLaren’s world champion and 2025 Monaco winner Lando Norris.
He was sixth in the opening practice but stopped early in the second with a power unit problem.
Today’s qualifying promises to be frenetic with 22 cars starting the first of the three rounds.
Reuters/AAP
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