FP2: Norris heads Leclerc in second Monza practice
Having struggled for pace in the opening practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris bounced back to set the benchmark time in the late afternoon one-hour session. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo reports from the Autrodromo Nazionale Monza.
Around halfway into the session, drivers began to make the switch to the soft tyres. Lando Norris did not look particularly quick in FP1, but his best effort on Pirelli's soft tyres saw him set a 1m 19.878s which was enough for him to top the leaderboard in FP2.
Charles Leclerc struggled to extract the most from his car on the soft-compound, but a late effort saw him record the second-quickest lap.
His former team-mate Carlos Sainz looked quick in the opening stages of the second practice session, and he managed to back up his early-session pace to slot into third.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri was forced to miss the opening session as he handed over his car to McLaren's junior driver Alex Dunne. The Australian looked quick in FP2 despite his lack of mileage, and wound up in fourth position.
Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark time in the opening practice, but he had a more difficult time in his car in FP2. The Briton had a late trip through the gravel at the exit of Lesmo 2, but he still took fifth, from reigning champion Max Verstappe in P6.
Alex Albon underlined Williams’ strong start to the weekend in seventh, finishing ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber, Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull and George Russell’s Mercedes, which returned to the track for the start of FP2 after his early-day hydraulic issues.
Having become the fifth youngest F1 podium finisher, Isack Hadjar ended up 11th fastest in FP2, leading a tight mid field, with Gabriel Bortoleto having finished 12th for Sauber.
Aston Martin did not have the pace to compete for top places as they did at Zandvoort a week ago. Lance Stroll was the quickest Aston Martin driver in P13, Oliver Bearman, his team-mate Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
Following his incident-filled Dutch Grand Prix, Liam Lawson is currently looking to struggle to find the balance at Monza, as he finished down in P17, four tenths adrift of his team-mate Isack Hajdar.
The final positions were filled by Alpine Pierre Gasly, the sidelined Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whilst Franco Colapinto completed a total of 30 laps in FP2, but his best effort was only enough for the last place on the leaderboard.
