Lewis Hamilton introduces himself to the Italian public while waiting to become a Ferrari driver: the seven-time world champion was the fastest in the second free practice session of the Italian GP. With the W15 suffering from an overheating cockpit, he reached 1’20″738 with the soft tyres. This is a time that is nine tenths faster than last year, a sign that the new asphalt surface is able to offer drivers grip that increases lap after lap.
Lewis ran on the new bottom, while in the morning he had used the old one, completing a comparison that had been missing due to Kimi Antonelli’s crash in FP1. George Russell missed the first half hour because the mechanics had to finish rebuilding the car that the young debutant from Bologna had crashed. George began his work with the long run of six laps before fitting the softs and trying a single lap: there was traffic and he lost more than three tenths from his teammate.
Behind Hamilton is Lando Norris with McLaren. The British driver is a shadow of the Stella, just 3 thousandths behind, which is to say nothing. Norris did not mount the most unloaded front wing, but the MCL38 found a very good pace with the mediums. In the timesheets Oscar Piastri is fourth with a gap of 120 thousandths, but the Australian is surprising for his ability to maintain a very interesting pace in the race simulation.
Ferrari is in the mix: Carlos Sainz is third with an SF-24 that seemed a little less nervous than in the first session. The Spaniard is one tenth behind, a sign that the red car can have its say on the long straights of Brianza, while Charles Leclerc is struggling more, being fifth but with a delay of 159 thousandths. The two red cars tried to set the time before their opponents, therefore having a track with a little less rubber that is evolving greatly.
The red car also showed a good pace at the start of the long run, showing the appearance of graining that appeared before McLaren and Red Bull, and then resumed an interesting pace. The graining phenomenon could tend to disappear with the increase in grip, so it will be up to the engineers of the Prancing Horse to make the right assessments in view of tomorrow’s qualifying.
In the timesheets you have to go down to 14th position to find Max Verstappen. The Dutchman aborted his best lap and therefore clocked a 1’21″610 which is not representative of the value of the Red Bull. The Dutchman gave up on the single lap preferring to put together an excellent long run because Kevin Magnussen caused a red flag halfway through the session.
The Dane suffered oversteer at the exit of the Variante della Roggia in his second attempt on the soft tyre and his Haas headed towards the escape route on the outside, crashing head-on into the barriers after a spin that allowed him to significantly reduce his speed. Kevin did not suffer any consequences from the impact, but the session was interrupted, while the clock continued to tick. If Magnussen is only 12th, Haas can count on Nico Hulkenberg in seventh with the other VF-24. The session was very tight considering that there are 16 cars in one second, so a couple of tenths can change the hierarchies that are not yet clear.
Worth noting is the growth of Racing Bulls that brought Daniel Ricciardo to eighth position ahead of the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Valtteri Bottas with Sauber has somewhat returned to the ranks after the exploit of the morning: the 11th place confirms that the unladen Sauber is suited to the Stradale. Obviously, to make an objective evaluation, one must not take into account Guanyu Zhou in great difficulty: the Chinese is last and leaves seven tenths to Valtteri. An eternity in the temple of speed.
Sergio Perez is 15th behind Verstappen in the other RB20: the Mexican missed part of the session because they replaced his gearbox as a precaution and also fitted him with the same floor as Max. Behind Checo is Yuki Tsunoda in the second Racing Bulls.
More was expected from Williams: Alexander Albon is 13th with an FW46 that should adapt to the fast, while Franco Colapinto continues his apprenticeship with the Grove single-seater: the Argentinean is now content with 17th position ahead of the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. The A522 is definitely in crisis on the long straights and the drivers can do nothing to hope to improve the situation.
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