After struggling with the ride of his RB19 car over kerbs and bumps in an FP1 session headed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Verstappen turned the tables in FP2.
The Dutchman’s benchmark effort on soft tyres of 1m12.462s was 0.065s faster than Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Verstappen’s place atop the times was secured when Sainz crashed out.
The Spaniard clipped the wall at the entrance to the Swimming Pool and with his steering broken, helplessly skated into the barriers on exit.
Sainz still ended up third after a bruising end to what had otherwise been a promising day, with Fernando Alonso 0.22s off the pace in his Aston Martin which boasts a package of updates for the first time this year.
Another car to feature notable upgrades, the Mercedes W14, ended up sixth in the hands of three-time Monaco GP winner Lewis Hamilton. Team boss Toto Wolff conceded that Monaco’s unique character made it a difficult circuit to judge the effectiveness of its changes, but remarked that "at least we haven't seen any behaviour of the car that would have been deemed as really negative".
Sainz wasn’t the only driver to find the wall around the treacherous street track, with two red flags in FP1. The first was caused by debris resulting from Nico Hulkenberg clipping the wall at the Nouvelle Chicane, the result an instant left-rear puncture, while Alex Albon suffered rather more damage when the back end of his Williams stepped out at Sainte Devote and caused damage to both left corners.
What time does qualifying start for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix?
Qualifying for the Monaco GP starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 27 May 2023Start time: 4pm local time – 3pm BST
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £24 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £34.99p per month.
Source: Autosport