FP2: Leclerc fastest again during second practice in Monaco as Hadjar and Piastri each cause red flags

Charles Leclerc completed a perfect Friday for Ferrari after topping the second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, which was disrupted by two red flags including one caused by Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri.

The home hero followed up on his P1 in the opening session with the fastest time on Friday afternoon, while team mate Lewis Hamilton in third signified a remarkable turnaround for the Scuderia from a week ago at Imola.

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive FP1 in Monaco as Leclerc finishes fastest despite Stroll collision

Drivers and teams continued to push the limits on the streets of the Principality, with Isack Hadjar and Piastri going beyond it during the one-hour session.

After the first set of runs, reigning World Champion Max Verstappen sat top of the order on a 1m 12.922s despite complaining over the radio for his team to "please fix the upshifts" and about the poor quality of his tear-off visors.

It took less than eight minutes for the first red flag of the session to be deployed, Hadjar having clipped the inside barrier on the entry to the Nouvelle Chicane which ripped the left-rear tyre off its rim.

Having initially come to a stop on the far side of the chicane as the red flags flew, the Frenchman slowly made his way back to the pits having asked his Racing Bulls team on the best course of action.

Once running resumed, Piastri lowered the benchmark to a 1m 12.548s on a set of medium tyres, but the McLaren driver brought out the red flags again shortly after having hit the barrier head-on at Sainte Devote.

WATCH: Piastri brings out the red flags during FP2 in Monaco after finding the wall at Sainte Devote

After reversing, the Australian was able to recover back to the pits for a new front wing as the session resumed with 35 minutes remaining.

Prior to the second stoppage, Leclerc had moved to the top of the times with a 1m 12.103s, but multiple Monaco Grand Prix winners Fernando Alonso, on the softs, and Hamilton on the hard rubber both jumped him.

Alonso then became the first driver to dip below the 1m 12s mark with a 1m 11.890s, faster than Leclerc's best from FP1, as the session entered its second half.

Leclerc's first effort on a soft moved the benchmark down to a 1m 11.414s, while his second attempt with 20 minutes remaining improved that to a 1m 11.355s, which would finish as the fastest time on Friday.

Piastri recovered from his incident to finish second, just 0.038s behind Leclerc, with Hamilton one-tenth behind Leclerc as Lando Norris completed the top four.

READ MORE: Stroll hit with grid penalty after Leclerc clash in opening Monaco GP practice

Liam Lawson finished an impressive fifth just ahead of team mate Hadjar, who found the barriers again, this time at Sainte Devote on a cooldown lap inside the final 10 minutes, which left the Racing Bulls machine with damage as he crabbed back to the pits.

Alonso, Alex Albon's Williams and Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes finished ahead of Verstappen in P10, who remained unhappy with his Red Bull having gone into the run-off area at one point. The Dutchman was only 0.004s ahead of team mate Yuki Tsunoda, who in turn headed the second Mercedes and Williams of George Russell and Carlos Sainz respectively.

Gabriel Bortoleto, who Verstappen had complained about for blocking through the Swimming Pool section, put his Kick Sauber in 14th with team mate Nico Hulkenberg 16th, as Ollie Bearman's Haas sat between them – though the Briton was later hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the race for overtaking under the red flag.

Pierre Gasly was the top Alpine in P17 as team mate Franco Colapinto ended last of the 20 runners. Lance Stroll, who was handed a one-place penalty for his collision with Leclerc in FP1, was 18th ahead of Esteban Ocon for Haas.

Drivers and teams will debrief overnight ahead of Saturday's crucial Qualifying session.