Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Lewis Hamilton unperturbed by red flag
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the second free practice session. Like the first, it was marked by a red flag. This time, Kevin Magnussen was responsible.
He was ready. But he couldn’t leave right away. George Russell was stuck in his pit during the official start of the second free practice session. The British driver’s car was damaged after Kimi Antonelli’s accident with the same car earlier in the day.
In the early afternoon, the drivers discovered this new track at Monza. With new tarmac and some modifications to several turns, lap times gradually decreased. Enough to already beat last year’s benchmarks.
A new red flag
During the second free practice session, same story. Lando Norris didn’t take long to beat Max Verstappen’s time. The Ferrari drivers have been on fire at the beginning of the session. Carlos Sainz and then Charles Leclerc set the fastest time (1:21:119) on medium tires.
The McLaren drivers then switched to the soft tires. The difference is clear. Nearly three tenths better than the other tires. Enough to take back the provisional lead of the session.
George Russell’s Mercedes suffered significant damage. But the Mercedes mechanics managed to repair the car in time. The Briton was able to hit the track after about twenty minutes. Meanwhile, his teammate surprised everyone by setting the fastest time despite not having excellent first two sectors (1:20:738).
George Russell attacking on the last lap
Similar to the first free practice session, a track exit disrupted the smooth running of the session. Coming out of the second Lesmo curve, Kevin Magnussen lost control of his Haas and went crashing into the tires. The red flag was raised again. The Danish driver took the opportunity to sign some autographs for the spectators at the edge of the track. A reassuring sign of his health condition.
Once the track was cleaned and the Haas was removed from the gravel trap, the drivers shifted to race pace mode. In this little game, the McLarens were the most impressive, as they have been since the beginning of the season. A feeling that Lando Norris did not think was possible at the start of the weekend.
Only George Russell took advantage of the last moments to put on the soft tires and set the sixth fastest time.
The ranking
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:20:738 | 23 | |
| 2 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:20:741 | +0.003 | 22 |
| 3 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20:841 | +0.103 | 26 |
| 4 | Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | 1:20:858 | +0.120 | 23 |
| 5 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20:892 | +0.154 | 25 |
| 6 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:21:086 | +0.348 | 19 |
| 7 | Hülkenberg | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:21:140 | +0.402 | 24 |
| 8 | Ricciardo | Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team | 1:21:300 | +0.562 | 22 |
| 9 | Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:21:316 | +0.578 | 23 |
| 10 | Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:21:363 | +0.625 | 26 |
| 11 | Bottas | Stake F1 Team | 1:21:461 | +0.723 | 24 |
| 12 | Magnussen | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:21:499 | +0.761 | 11 |
| 13 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:21:592 | +0.854 | 24 |
| 14 | Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:21:610 | +0.872 | 22 |
| 15 | Perez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:21:678 | +0.940 | 13 |
| 16 | Tsunoda | Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team | 1:21:735 | +0.997 | 19 |
| 17 | Colapinto | Williams Racing | 1:21:784 | +1.046 | 19 |
| 18 | Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:21:819 | +1.081 | 22 |
| 19 | Ocon | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:21:867 | +1.129 | 21 |
| 20 | Guanyu | Stake F1 Team | 1:22:223 | +1.485 | 25 |
