Italy – Free Practice 2: Hamilton ahead of Rosberg for the first time, Ferrari in pursuit but still behind

150 minutes after the end of the day’s first session, the second free practice session opened its doors at 2 PM, still under a clear and bright sun. 29 degrees in the air and 42 degrees on the track, reminiscent of an Indian summer, which is expected to continue throughout the weekend in Monza.

Among the first drivers on the track were the two Manors, the two Renaults, as well as Esteban Gutierrez, Kimi Räikkönen, and Nico Hülkenberg. The German from Force India was eager to drive after having ceded his seat to Alfonso Celis during the morning session. A few minutes later, Sebastian Vettel took the time to greet his fans from his car adorned with the prancing horse.

The two Ferraris were actually setting the first real times, on mediums for Räikkönen, softs for Vettel.

On the other hand, the first laps were complicated for other drivers powered by a Ferrari engine. Having set a good sixth fastest time in FP1, with super-soft tires, Romain Grosjean was complaining at that moment about a slightly less stable rear end. As was the case this morning, Felipe Nasr was losing engine power in his Sauber, particularly coming out of Parabolica, before the main straight.

Hamilton and Rosberg alone at the top on all three tire compounds

In the lead, the Mercedes-Ferrari match was quickly decided. Like Räikkönen, Nico Rosberg started his session on medium tires. Already, the gap favored Mercedes, three-tenths ahead of Ferrari. The comparison was even harsher on the soft tires. To get started, after 15 minutes of the session, Lewis Hamilton clocked a time of 1’23″732, which was 0.712s faster than Vettel. But the Ferrari driver took the lead, with the super-softs, at 1’23″254. At least in terms of tire change. Because even on this compound, Mercedes remained ahead: 1’22″801 for the triple world champion, 0.193s ahead of Rosberg, 0.453s ahead of Vettel. However, in terms of lifespan, Hamilton was a bit concerned, notably by quickly changing his red-striped tires from the first stint.

As a reminder, the time set last year in FP2 was 1:24.279, compared to 1:23.297 in Qualifying. However, the super-soft tire was not part of the event schedule, which partly explains this improvement.

Lewis Hamilton had dominated all the sessions, from FP1 to the end of the race. This time, Rosberg prevented him from that luxury in FP1, but the good work of the Briton this afternoon suggests that he is naturally a contender for his own succession at the top of the podium.

In the midfield, let’s note the impressive progress of Pascal Wehrlein, on soft tires, just four-tenths behind Fernando Alonso! However, the McLaren driver was held up in the garage for a few minutes due to clutch problems. More bad luck, however, for Esteban Ocon, who was stranded at the side of the track before the first Lesmo. The young Frenchman involuntarily loses valuable track time.

.@OconEsteban grinds to a halt at Lesmo meaning it’s Virtual Safety Car time #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/hmRcKinteo

— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 septembre 2016

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (after 40 mins)#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/3ohBjTqHJb

— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 septembre 2016

Translate: Mid-session: Hamilton maintained his benchmark of 1:22.801, still ahead of Rosberg and Vettel, Räikkönen. Ricciardo and Verstappen remained far behind the top four, over a second adrift. Worse still, the little sister Toro Rosso was in bad shape on a high-speed circuit. The 2015 Ferrari engine struggled in the Toro Rosso, and most importantly, it was not competitive. Kvyat 20th, Sainz 22nd: the horizon was blocked for the two young wolves.

Long pneumatic relay stints on the horizon for the race?

Then, the start of the second part of the session was focused on longer relay runs as practice for Sunday’s race. A nice surprise on the tire front: Sergio Pérez praised his super-soft tires on the radio, calling them “very consistent,” even after about ten laps! In this game, Rosberg managed to push beyond fifteen laps. One-stop strategies are shaping up for Sunday…

However, there will remain some shadowy areas, as drivers like Button have made it known that the rear tires of his McLaren were seriously degrading, starting from the twelfth lap on his long stint on super-softs. The British veteran was even snubbed by his team, wanting to put an end to his practice, as his tires were seriously worn, approximately six seconds off his personal best time.

On Carlos Sainz’s side, the tire training was also intense, up to a feeling of a puncture on the rear-right tire, quickly denied by the pit wall.

Thus, all these tire issues were gradually addressed in the final minutes of this FP2, with little disruption to the standings. Under the checkered flag, Hamilton was still ahead of Rosberg, with a comfortable margin over the first of the others, Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari team will have to be content with keeping Red Bull in their rearview mirrors before attacking the Mercedes.

In terms of pure performance, Romain Grosjean and Fernando Alonso will be satisfied with their times. The disappointments are attributed to the Renault cars and especially the Scuderia Toro Rosso, which is dangerously sliding to the bottom of the standings.

From a general point of view, all the drivers this time achieved their respective best times on super-soft tires.

Here is the final ranking of this second practice session:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (end of #FP2) #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/u5gXcqfQKU

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2016

Visit our site now for the reactions of the various participants of this track day at Monza!