Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc maintained his and the Maranello team’s recent strong form as he topped second practice in Italy, though Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes closed in. Belgian GP victor Charles Leclerc, who surged to the front during the final stages of a wet/dry FP1, clocked a time of 1:20.978 in cool and overcast conditions at Monza.
Showers lingered in the area throughout the 90-minute session but drivers were able to carry out running on slick tyres. Charles Leclerc was the only driver to dip into the 1:20s but his advantage over Hamilton was just 0.068s, as Mercedes belied its straight-line speed disadvantage at the venue.
Hamilton has taken four wins from five attempts in the hybrid era at the event.
Sebastian Vettel was two-tenths down on his Ferrari team-mate as he classified third overall, in front of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who edged Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.003s. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Alexander Albon was sixth, a further two-tenths behind the Dutchman, while Pierre Gasly led the midfield, half a second behind his Red Bull replacement.
Haas’ Romain Grosjean was eighth, as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10.
Outgoing Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. were next up, with Kevin Magnussen, Kimi Raikkonen, the Racing Point pair and Antonio Giovinazzi ensuring the midfield were covered by just a second. A small oil leak consigned Lando Norris to the garage for much of the session but he returned to action late on to set a representative lap, winding up 18th.
Saturday’s third practice session is scheduled for 12:00 local time.
2019 FORMULA 1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE 2 RESULTS
1 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.978s
2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.068s
3 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 0.201s
4 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.369s
5 Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 0.372s
6 Alexander Albon THA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 0.611s
7 Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.146s
8 Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 1.175s
9 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 1.271s
10 Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.282s
11 Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team + 1.360s
12 Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 1.504s
13 Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 1.533s
14 Kimi Raikkonen ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 1.545s
15 Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1.728s
16 Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1.904s
17 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 2.087s
18 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 2.583s
19 Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing + 2.759s
20 George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing + 3.335s
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