Formula 1: Mercedes Tops FP2, Verstappen Struggles with Tyre Degradation
Mercedes dominated the second practice session (FP2) at the Italian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton topping the timing sheets and George Russell finishing sixth. However, it was a tough day for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who struggled with tyre degradation and finished 14th in FP2.
In FP1, Kimi Antonelli, making his Formula 1 debut, spun out of the session, causing a red flag. Hamilton managed plenty of laps and looked quick, finishing seventh, while Russell had to watch on as his car was repaired. Russell got going late in FP2 and was out of sync, resulting in a less representative fastest time.
“We’ve had a busy day here in Monza. Kimi’s accident luckily didn’t do any damage to him, but the car took a big hit. Repairing it ate into George’s session a little bit. That cost us some learning, but we’ll hopefully recover that ground in FP3 tomorrow. Lewis had two strong sessions. The car seems to be working well, but there is not much to choose between the top few teams; it all looks very tight, and from today’s data, there doesn’t seem to be more than a couple of tenths separating the front of the field.”
- Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director
Verstappen, who topped FP1, struggled in FP2, saying:
“We tried quite a few things today, FP1 felt decent, and then FP2 we had good learnings from the long run. This track is aggressive on tyres, so it will be quite interesting how the track will evolve for the race as well. We were trying different setups in both sessions, but couldn’t get it locked. At the end of the day, that is what practice is for, and we want to learn a bit more about the car.”
The midfield battle is heating up, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren looking strong, finishing second and fourth in FP2, respectively. Alfa Romeo’s Kevin Magnussen struggled with tyre degradation and finished 12th, while Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg had a solid day, finishing 16th.
Franco Colapinto, making his Formula 1 debut with Williams, had a respectable day, finishing 17th in FP2. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly of Alpine struggled, finishing 19th and 18th, respectively.
The Italian Grand Prix continues tomorrow with FP3 and Qualifying.
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