The two free practice sessions held today in Monza did not help to define the hierarchies. It is not a game of hidden cards but rather a balance of values in the field that, at least for now, makes it difficult to draw up a ranking of the values in the field. There is a Lewis Hamilton on the ball on the fast lap who however completed a race simulation that is difficult to evaluate. Max Verstappen instead had to give up the fast lap (due to a mistake in Parabolica and the subsequent long interruption caused by an exit from the track by Kevin Magnussen in Lesmo) and in the day’s ranking he is only fourteenth. But the world champion impressed with a good race simulation.
The common data that emerged after the two hours of testing is that the classic one-stop Monza is not a certainty. The new asphalt (a big question mark on the eve of the weekend) has highlighted some graining problems, which emerged more or less significantly based on the length of the ‘runs’ and the cars. According to Pirelli, the possibility of a two-stop race is to be taken into consideration, even if the teams will do everything possible to avoid it due to the considerable time cost of the pit-stop on the Monza circuit.
McLaren is apparently more hidden, but in reality the Piastri-Norris tandem is the one that scares the opponents the most. In the qualifying simulation Lando was only three thousandths behind Hamilton, in the long-runs both McLarens were very consistent without suffering a significant drop in performance. “The gaps are minimal as expected – commented Norris – the four top teams are all within just over a tenth. Between qualifying and the race it will be fun. From our side I would say that everything went according to plan, we completed the work and I would say that the feeling with the track is good. The stopwatch tells us that the car is in good shape, so a good start”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Some questions were raised by Verstappen’s race simulation, very fast and consistent for the first eight laps (from 1’25″3 to 1’24″7) and then up to the pace of one minute and twenty-six seconds in the final three laps, without any apparent traffic problems. “It seems that the long run was quite competitive,” Max commented. “At the moment we have seen that the track is more aggressive than expected on the tyres, but it will be interesting to see how it evolves. We have done several tests, now we will have to see some direction, but we have everything to be there and compete.” “We are in a much better situation than in Zandvoort,” confirmed Helmut Marko.
It is difficult to evaluate the long-run of George Russell, who entered the track halfway through FP2 as soon as the mechanics had concluded the long and substantial work of preparing his car after Kimi Antonelli’s accident in FP1. His program was not in line with his direct rivals, but Russell (who at the end of the session thanked the team for the tour de force to restore the car) in the end, despite not running much, appeared happy with the first taste of the car.
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