Carlos Sainz, 2nd in free practice, dreams high and aims for the podium or even victory at the Monaco GP

Ferrari doing well in Monaco. Few expected it, although the surprise is relative after the good start to the campaign that they starred in, but it is necessary to go back many great prizes to see the two Maranello cars dominate on a Friday.

Fernando Alonso starts the Monaco GP with an accident against the wall

Charles Leclerc, which runs at home (literally: passes next to the balcony of your home, where this weekend he has several guest friends he greeted while filming), he was the fastest of the day ahead of Carlos Sainz, what finished 2º not only in FP2 but also in FP1. The Madrilenian already promised to finish very high and the feelings were very positive before arriving, but the performance of this Thursday has confirmed it.

And that for him was not a day without scares. In the first free, in which Fernando Alonso had a hit against the wall, he also ‘kissed’ the wards. A scare to test the limits of the track which, here, is almost certainly an accident.

On a track that progressively improved its conditions, Sainz remained at the top of the table constantly. Although in the free seconds he did not use the medium tires (which in Monaco will be, predictably, optimal for the race), he did mark ground on the very ones Lewis hamilton Y Max verstappen, whom he kept at bay in the two rounds of the day.

With his former partner, in fact, he had a little run-in in the morning. Old friends and rivals (In the Red Bull quarry, competitiveness is not understood if it is not bites), the Dutchman complained that the Madrilenian had hindered him at the entrance to the tunnel and he responded with a small bite between them in which he made it clear what he is not intimidated by anyone, however much Verstappen it is.

It remains to be seen if these feelings translate into qualifying on Saturday. In a circuit like the Monegasque, where everything can happen except for constant overtaking, a good part of the options go through classifying very high. Sainz does this circuit exceptionally well, as he has scored on the five occasions he has raced in F1 And here he also has great memories of his beginnings, since it was the scene of his debut in the World Series that he ended up conquering.

After four appointments in which he has not felt completely comfortable with himself, more for fear of being wrong than for his own mistakes, Sainz hopes to hit the chime on a route that marks the legends. Not in vain here myths such as Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher, in addition to his own Lewis hamilton that, despite everything, is still the great favorite in the pools.