If you ever needed proof that Monaco is less a racetrack and more a high-stakes game of billiards played with carbon fibre, then today’s Free Practice 2 delivered it in spades. The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix FP2 session was a masterclass in chaos, a reminder that in the Principality, the walls are always hungry and the script is never predictable. For those who tuned in expecting a gentle Friday warm-up, the session offered a cocktail of shattered carbon, red flags, and the kind of surprises that make even a grizzled old scribe like myself sit up and mutter, Here we go again.
When the Barriers Bite Back: Monaco FP2 Incidents and Red Flags
Monaco’s FP2 is supposed to be the hour when teams fine-tune their qualifying setups, drivers find their rhythm, and everyone pretends that the weekend will unfold according to plan. Instead, today’s session was a parade of battered egos and battered machinery. The first major incident came courtesy of Isack Hadjar, who managed to turn his Racing Bulls into a three-wheeler after a heavy impact at the chicane after the tunnel. The left-rear tyre made a bid for freedom, and the marshals were left to sweep up the debris as the session ground to a halt under red flags.
Not to be outdone, Oscar Piastri—championship leader and the man everyone expected to glide through Monaco’s streets with the poise of a ballet dancer—found himself in the wall at Sainte-Devote. The McLaren reversed sheepishly back to the pits, minus a front wing and, one suspects, a fair bit of confidence. The red flag was waved again, and the clock ticked down as mechanics scrambled and strategists tore up their run plans.
FP2 back underway! Hadjar makes his way to the pits without a tyre and, with the bits of debris all collected by the marshals, we’re back underway!
Kieran Jackson, The Independent
For a taste of the drama, you can watch the highlights here:
Monaco GP FP2 Crash Highlights
The Numbers Behind the Nerves
Let’s not pretend this is new. Monaco’s FP2 sessions have a long and ignoble history of being interrupted by red flags and crashes. The circuit’s narrow confines and zero margin for error mean that even the best can look like amateurs. Lewis Hamilton, for instance, has previously found himself airborne at the Swimming Pool, and Max Verstappen’s relationship with the barriers is the stuff of legend. In 2018, Verstappen clipped the wall in FP2, foreshadowing his infamous FP3 crash that year.
Statistically, Monaco leads the calendar in practice session interruptions. Red flags in FP2 are almost a tradition, with the likes of Hamilton (2009), Pérez (2011), and Ricciardo (2014) all starring in their own demolition derbies. The effect is always the same: disrupted run plans, wasted tyres, and a paddock full of nervous glances.
Red flags and crashes in Monaco practice sessions, including FP2, typically lead to less running, disrupted preparations, and increased pressure on teams and drivers. This can have a knock-on effect for the rest of the weekend, as Monaco is a circuit where confidence and track time are especially crucial.
Internal F1 Historical Analysis
The Standings: Who Survived, Who Thrived?
While the official, minute-by-minute timesheet for FP2 is still being digested by the statisticians, the headlines are clear: the session was less about outright pace and more about survival.
The Human Element: Pressure, Panic, and the Monaco Mindset
If you want to understand why Monaco FP2 is so treacherous, look no further than the psychology of the place. Every driver knows that confidence is king here, and every minute lost to a red flag is a minute lost to self-doubt. The two-pit-stop rule for Sunday is already playing on everyone’s minds, and the pressure to nail every lap in practice is immense.
Max Verstappen, never one to mince words, summed up the mood on the radio:
Please fix the upshifts.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull (Team Radio)
It’s the kind of terse, frustrated communication that tells you everything about the tension in the cockpit. When even the reigning champion is rattled by the smallest technical gremlins, you know Monaco is doing its job.
History Repeats: The Ghosts of FP2 Past
Today’s chaos is just the latest chapter in a long-running saga. In the last two decades, Monaco FP2 has seen everything from surprise pace by midfielders to catastrophic crashes that have rewritten the weekend’s script. In 2014, Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull topped the timesheets unexpectedly, while in 2016 and 2019, multiple red flags turned the session into a stop-start lottery.
The lesson? In Monaco, the only thing you can predict is unpredictability. As Jackie Stewart once said, There are two types of drivers at Monaco: those who have hit the barriers, and those who will. Today, a few more names were added to the former category.
The Pundits Weigh In: Critique and Comedy
No Monaco weekend would be complete without the peanut gallery having its say. Jacques Villeneuve, never shy with an opinion, took a swipe at McLaren’s strategy, calling it really odd and accusing the team of showing weakness. Meanwhile, Martin Brundle, with his usual blend of insight and mischief, mused about the new two-stop rule:
I like the idea, let’s give it a chance. It depends on safety cars or red flags, if they happen. I’m surprised they haven’t said one pit-stop must be in the second half of the race. Will the frontrunners hang on to pit on the penultimate lap? It does mean that you can’t get out in front, go at F2 race, and keep position.
Martin Brundle, Sky Sports F1
For more on the punditry and the latest Monaco news, check out:
F1 Monaco GP LIVE: Practice updates, stream and results
Waste a Bit More Time
If you’ve made it this far, you’re clearly as addicted to Monaco mayhem as I am. Here are a few more rabbit holes to tumble down while the marshals sweep up the last of the carbon shards:
And if you want to relive the carnage, the best place to start is always the official highlights and fan reactions on YouTube and X.com.
