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Lewis Hamilton pipped Lando Norris by 0.003 seconds to finish top with Carlos Sainz a further tenth back in FP2 at the Italian Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ended the first practice session quickest – despite locking up several times going into Turn One -Â? in an eventful session. Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli found the barriers at Parabolica, ending his debut Formula 1 practice session in 10 minutes.
Light turns green
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was the first driver to exit the pitlane. The Frenchman set the first lap time of the session, setting a 1:22.776 on the medium compound.
Ocon’s teammate Pierre Gasly pipped the Frenchman early on into the session by 0.095 seconds on the same compound.
A flurry of lap times throughout the first five minutes resulted in Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton rising to the top with a 1:21.641 on the medium tyre. The seven-time world champion’s closest competitor was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri – the Australian found himself 0.167 seconds behind.
McLaren driver Lando Norris’ first run was good enough to propel the Briton up to first. The 24-year-old went 0.036 seconds quicker than Hamilton. Meanwhile, Williams driver Alex Albon almost lost the rear of his FW46 at Parabolica – almost replicating Antonelli’s incident in FP1. However, the Thai driver was able to correct the car and stay out of the barriers.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz rised to the top, setting a 1:21.264 at the quarter-way mark. Ferrari will be hoping its upgrades will be enough to challenge the top three teams this weekend at their home race.
Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc managed to go quicker than his Spanish teammate by just over a tenth, setting a 1:21.119, making it a Ferrari 1-2.
Soft tyre runs
Hamilton was the first driver to go out on-track on the soft tyre – barring Daniel Ricciardo – for qualifying runs. However, the seven-time world champion could not beat Sainz’s time, despite being on the quicker compound.
Piastri was flying durong sectors one and two, going to the top of the timesheet, setting a 1:20.858 on the soft compound. However, the Australian’s teammate Norris pipped him by 0.007 seconds on the same compound.
Hamilton went on to the radio to say that he had no tow for his flying lap. However, 25 minutes into the session saw Russell go out on-track for the first time this weekend.
Norris further extended his lead at the front just before the half-way mark to go just over a tenth quicker than Piastri in second. However, Hamilton pipped the two-time race winner by 0.003 seconds to go top, going quickest in the final sector. The top five drivers all find themselves within 0.154 seconds of each other.
Verstappen suffered a moment at Parabolica with the rear of his RB20 snapping. The Dutchman had to abandon his lap, staying in 13th and struggling throughout the session.
Red flag
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen found himself in the barriers at the exit of Lesmo Two. The Dane lost the rear of his VF-24 on entry to Lesmo Two, spinning into the barriers.
The green flag was waving again with a third of the session to go. Russell was raring to get out to get as much track time as possible. The Briton wnet round the outside of Perez at Curva Grande. The Mercedes driver opted to do some high fuel runs on the medium tyre.
Russell went for a soft tyre run late on in the session, setting a time good enough for sixth and three-and-a-half tenths off Hamilton.
Hamilton ended the session quickest by 0.003 seconds from Norris and a further tenth ahead of Sainz. The top five finished all separated by only a tenth-and-a-half.
FP2 has been a tricky session for Red Bull. Verstappen ended the session in 13th, struggling with snaps of oversteer and lock-ups. Perez ended the session a position behind the Dutchman in 14th.
Results
- Lewis Hamilton
- Lando Norris
- Carlos Sainz
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- George Russell
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Kevin Magnussen
- Alex Albon
- Max Verstappen
- Sergio Perez
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Franco Colapinto
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Zhou Guanyu
Feature Image Credit: Mark Thompson via Getty Images