We return to the track for the second free practice session in the temple of speed, a Monza. We witnessed a rather hard-fought first session, and some positive signs from Ferrari. The Maranello team took advantage of the less loaded wing to reach Red Bull's speed. Carlos Sainz showed good pace for Ferrari, finishing 0,046 seconds off the Dutch driver's pace. However, the weekend is still long. Furthermore in the FP1 Verstappen ran with a more powerful specification than his teammate and opponents for comparative tests, still managing to put them behind. All attention then turned to FP2. Let's see what happened in this second and last session of the day. The final order sees the birthday boy, Carlos Sainz, at the top followed by Norris and Perez. A nice gift for his 29th birthday, right?
We remind you that this weekend the called qualifying format returns Alternative Tire Allocation (ATA), with the mandatory compound for each phase: white will be used in Q1, yellow in Q2 and red in Q3. A format that we have already experimented with in Hungary and which partly sacrifices free practice in the absence of trains to exploit. In FP1 the majority of drivers opted for hard or soft tyres, except for Haas and Aston Martin who used mediums on both cars. In order to save tires for the rest of the weekend, no driver fitted a second set of tires to go faster, focusing instead on long runs.
Problematic start for Stroll
The session begins immediately with a first twist and a red flag caused by Lance Stroll. The Canadian, who did not lap in FP1 to give space to Drugovich, suffered a loss of power before the Ascari and was forced to park the car on the grass. A problem with the fuel supply system was the cause of the shutdown. Really unlucky in these FP2s.
Red Bull, Max even more exhausted
Having established that the more loaded wing specification performs less than the less loaded one, which Perez mounted in the first session, Red Bull has decided to pursue this path also with Max Verstappen in FP2. The Dutchman put himself ahead of the group in the first simulation with yellow tires and a time that was 4 tenths lower than that of FP1. Immediately behind him is his former teammate, Alexander Albon, 59 thousandths behind Max on the red tyre. Williams is preparing for qualifying, after having achieved an extraordinary double qualification in Q3 in Holland. Also on medium tyres, the two Ferraris placed themselves in fourth and fifth place, around 3 tenths from Verstappen, and less than 2 from Perez.
The Ferraris light up
At the second attempt of FP2 the Ferraris fire up and finish 1-2 with Sainz in the lead, followed by Leclerc. The Spaniard seemed more comfortable than the Monegasque from the first session and it can be seen in the two tenths that separate them. A Red that can have its say about him especially in qualifying. The two are the best in all three areas. Charles in the first and Sainz in the second and third. However, the sensations in Mercedes are different, as they seem to focus more on the race rather than the flying lap. Hamilton points out to the team that his car is 5 km/h slower than Russell and 10 slower than Leclerc. A factor determined by a different aerodynamic load and which the team needs for further comparisons to find the ideal set up.
Qualification simulation of FP2
The second and final half hour opens with a qualifying simulation with red tyres. Leclerc always places himself in second position, while Albon with the yellow improves on the red and places himself in third position. Sainz's time is attacked by Sergio Perez. In Red Bull we also talk about trails, an element that the Mexican particularly pushes on as he feels the lack of top speed. With red tires and a bit of traffic Max Verstappen had to settle for a sad third place behind Perez and Sainz. A start to the weekend in reverse pairs, in the comparison between teammates. With the Latin couple more on the ball than the two top drivers. Max Verstappen is not satisfied however. He asks the team for a second try. The team replies "we are not in qualifying" and he continues to insist on having a reference and to understand if Perez's time is really a danger. The two McLaren drivers also placed in the top 5, with Norris second, 19 thousandths behind Sainz, who took the lead, and Piastri fourth, immediately behind Perez.
Even if it's only Friday, looking at the times, they are all very close. So it promises to be an interesting qualifying tomorrow!
Race pace simulation, Perez out
The last quarter of an hour is dedicated to simulating the race pace. However, the session was interrupted due to an accident caused by Perez. The Mexican, after having started the day in the best possible way, was unable to keep the RB19 and ended up in a parabolic barrier, however avoiding hitting hard and therefore force the mechanics to do important work. The session restarts with 4 minutes to go to allow the riders to finish the day on track.
