Le first free practice of the Italian GP at Monza have already offered several interesting insights into the rest of the weekend. The session saw Max Verstappen set the fastest time ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, but attention was also focused on preparing the cars for the race simulations, which the teams were unable to delve into due to the accident involving Andrea Kimi Antonelli. With an extra 60 minutes to spare, let's see what happened in FP2 of the Italian GP at Monza.
Where we left off, Verstappen first with Ferrari and McLaren chasing
Antonelli's accident interrupted the first free practice session for several minutes: the young Mercedes driver, driving the W15 with the new bottom, lost control of the car and crashed violently into the barriers. This episode reduced the time available to the teams who tested the race pace with just a few minutes to go in the session. The Classic Mercedes for sale, caught in the middle of a comparison between the two surfaces, then decided following the accident to continue with the test, with Hamilton on track in FP2 with the new surface, while Russell with the old one.
The competitiveness between Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull was evident from the start, with Leclerc and Norris slotting in behind Verstappen in single-lap times.. Teams will use FP2 to further evaluate race pace and gather further data on tyre degradation, a crucial aspect on a circuit like Monza, which puts both the brakes and the aerodynamic efficiency of the cars to the test.
We take to the track, McLaren and Ferrari take turnso
At the start of FP2 in Monza all the drivers take to the track with medium tyres. With these compounds Ferrari prevails in first and second place with Leclerc and Sainz. From the footage on board the SF-24 and the lap times it seems the problems highlighted in the first free practice by the Monegasque Ferrari driver have been resolved. In the meantime in the pits they are still working on George Russell's single-seater after Andrea Kimi Antonelli's accident. Sergio Perez also remains in the pits for a precautionary gearbox replacement started before the session. For them the session therefore starts with a several minutes delay.
At Red Bull there are still several attempts. Verstappen is stuck in P13 with the medium tyre, Perez also reaches him once he gets on the track. After a few laps with the medium tyre, the drivers have to dedicate themselves to a simulation with the soft tyre. Simulations that see the two McLarens excel. Meanwhile at Mercedes both Hamilton and Russell report a seat that is too hot. A problem that the German team will have to investigate.
Red flag, Magnussen on the wall
With 20 minutes to go, the session was interrupted, this time Kevin Magnussen's Haas crashed. The American team's driver lost control of the rear of his car, putting an end to his first day of free practice. After a few minutes, the session resumed. Upon returning, several drivers decided to dedicate themselves to the race simulation, which was stripped down to the bare minimum in FP1. Among them was Max Verstappen, in the absence of references.
The ranking therefore stabilizes 15 minutes from the end, following the start of the race simulation. Confirmed first place for Lewis Hamilton, followed by Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz all three within a tenth. Fifth Leclerc.
Race pace, McLaren confirms its form also in Monza but Ferrari and Red Bull close
McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, based on what we saw in the last part of FP2 of the Italian GP in Monza, are all competing with rather similar times on the race pace. Different work for Lewis Hamilton who starts with higher times and then lowers them after a series of laps. However, no one escapes graining, which is why everyone's times dropped as the laps went by.
The picture at the end of FP2 of the Italian GP in Monza is therefore still difficult to read. Everything postponed until tomorrow with the last session of Free Practice and Qualifying.
