It’s Monaco again! Crashing across categories, the four-time world champion performed a miraculous manoeuvre

One of the most traditional grand prix on the F1 calendar has once again shown that it is certainly not forgiving of mistakes. Several pilots had contact with the barriers on the Monaco city circuit in the opening days and some of them had their monoposts destroyed. Fortunately, both F2’s Jake Hughes and F1’s Daniel Ricciardo walked away from their crashes.

Hughes came close to crashing in Thursday’s practice. The Van Amesfoort Racing driver gently touched the barrier at Turn 16, which proved fatal for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc last year. He had to head to the pits and replace the front wing.

But in Friday’s qualifying, the Briton overdid it. He hit the wall with his left wheel at Turn 14, starting a series of events that ended with a sharp hit to the barrier and a total destruction of the car.

The VAR mechanics will be busy putting the car back together for Saturday’s sprint race.

Late pole position holder Felipe Drugovich also had problems in qualifying. The Brazilian also had to shut down his Monopar on his final lap after contact with the wall at the last corner, and as no-one could overcome him after that due to yellow flags, the decision was made.

The big crash did not escape the queen of motorsport either. In the second free practice session, it was Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren. The Australian made a very similar mistake to Jake Hughes a few hours earlier and ended up in the barrier as well. Fortunately, he too escaped uninjured.

And finally, a great display of hand/foot coordination from Sebastian Vettel. The four-time world champion, who has never finished worse than fifth in a completed race in Monaco, pulled off a brilliant manoeuvre to avoid an accident.

Only centimetres separated the German from the same fate that befell Ricciardo and Hughes. But see for yourself how Vettel proved his years of experience.

As for the final results of the first two practice sessions, both were dominated by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Second place in FP1 went to Sergio Pérez, with Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz finishing second in the afternoon practice.

The Spanish Ferrari driver was no worse than third in both practice sessions, with Sainz finishing third in FP1. In the second practice session, second place belonged to Pérez.

Source:: F1, F2