F1 | Italian GP FP2: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton faced challenges, but the session delivered exciting moments
First 30 Minutes
The second free practice session at Monza began with all teams running on hard tires. Lewis Hamilton immediately went off into the gravel due to traffic, while Oscar Piastri lost a mirror after a violent bump over the curbs. A few minutes later, a red flag was shown following Kimi Antonelli’s off-track excursion, ending his session prematurely.
When the session resumed, McLaren quickly stood out with a 1-2 just ten minutes in. The team also worked on setup adjustments: Lando Norris returned with a lighter front wing, and ride heights were modified on both cars. On track, Charles Leclerc responded with a strong 1:20.957, while Oscar Piastri continued taking risks by running the rear wheels over the gravel.
Post-session investigations were not lacking: Oscar Piastri faced scrutiny for failing to follow race director instructions, and Gabriel Bortoleto for a yellow-flag infringement. However, the spotlight went to Carlos Sainz, who set the fastest time of the session, a 1:20.583 on yellow tires, putting his Williams at the top of the timing sheets.
Last 30 Minutes
In the second half of FP2, all drivers switched to red tires for a qualifying simulation. Lando Norris was the first to go under 1:20, setting a 1:19 that placed him at the top. Nico Hülkenberg surprised by taking second, while Charles Leclerc struggled on his first flying lap, ending up only fifth due to a small mistake and traffic.
As the session intensified, Lewis Hamilton moved into second, just two-tenths behind Norris, but was quickly overtaken by Carlos Sainz, who closed to only 96 thousandths off the leader. Leclerc didn’t give up: on his next attempt, he came within 83 thousandths of Norris’ time. Errors were still present, including a lock-up for Hamilton at Roggia, forcing him back to the pits, and another long run for Leclerc at Ascari after a front lock-up.
During the race simulation, Ferrari split strategies: Charles Leclerc ran on soft tires, Lewis Hamilton on hard. Norris and Verstappen maintained solid pace, while Oscar Piastri remained behind. The session ended with an intense wheel-to-wheel battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at turn 1, evoking memories of their Monza clash in 2021.
Here are the final results from Monza FP2:
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