Leclerc posted a time of 1:11.355s to finish fastest once more, having topped the day’s opening practice session, as he chases a second straight home victory.

Championship leader Piastri, who was runner-up in Monaco 12 months ago, was second despite an uncharacteristic mistake in the session.

Piastri carried too much speed into the right-hander of Sainte Devote and cannoned into the barriers, losing his front wing in the process.

The head-on impact at least prevented further damage to the MCL39 and Piastri was able to recover the car back to the pits and resume his programme.

He bolted on a set of Soft tyres and split the Ferrari drivers, finishing 0.038s behind Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton 0.105s down on his team-mate.

Lando Norris was fourth, three tenths off the pace, while Racing Bulls had a standout session despite Isack Hadjar twice hitting the barriers.

Liam Lawson, yet to score a point in 2025, was fifth-fastest, with a scrappy Hadjar sixth.

Hadjar clipped the barriers on the inside of the Nouvelle Chicane after just a few minutes, damaging the left-rear of the VCARB-02 and scattering debris on the track, which caused a brief suspension to the session.

Hadjar was swiftly able to resume his session but clattered into the wall exiting Sainte Devote, damaging the left-rear once again, and again he was able to recover his crabbing car back to the garage.

“I am so stupid, I think I’m just dumb,” was Hadjar’s honest radio message after his second contact, which curtailed his running.

Fernando Alonso finished seventh for Aston Martin, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with his team-mate George Russell down in 12^th.

Red Bull was seven-tenths off the pace, leaving Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda 10^th and 11^th respectively, split by only four-thousandths of a second.

Carlos Sainz was 13^th for Williams, his best time coming on the Medium tyres, while Sauber pair Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg sandwiched Haas’ Oliver Bearman.

Pierre Gasly was a subdued 17^th for Alpine, Lance Stroll was 18^th as he returned to action after missing most of the first session, while Esteban Ocon could muster only 19^th.

Franco Colapinto was the final of the 20 competitors, almost nine-tenths slower than Ocon.