Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is “miles ahead” of the field at the Monaco Grand Prix, world champion Max Verstappen said after Friday practice.

Leclerc, at his home race, set the pace in second practice ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

He was fast throughout both sessions and ended the day 0.188 seconds clear of the Mercedes.

Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell echoed Verstappen’s assessment, saying Leclerc was “well out in front”.

Hamilton added that it had been the “best day we’ve had on track” as Mercedes seemed more competitive than usual.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third fastest, 0.475secs off the pace, while Verstappen was an unhappy fourth.

The world champion, who complained his car was “bouncing like a kangaroo”, was 0.535secs off the pace and even hit the barriers lightly at Portier.

The incident did not damage his car, but for the second race in a row Red Bull appeared to be struggling for pace.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who pushed Verstappen hard for victory in Imola last weekend and won in Miami the race before that, was fifth fastest, 0.675secs off the pace, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz sixth.

The second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was seventh, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Williams’ Alex Albon and Russell, who was hampered all day by a steering vibration.

Hamilton said: “The car was feeling really positive, really enjoying driving it. We still have some challenges with the balance but I was looking strong.

“What was a surprise was the grip level and how the car was reacting here. Definitely a more enjoyable ride than we’ve had here the last two years.”

Hamilton said, though, that Mercedes “still have a lot of work to do” on race pace, as he was struggling with tyre graining, where the surface tears and grip is lost.

But, as ever in Friday practice, there were a number of variables that made it difficult to predict form.