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<strong>FP2: </strong>Leclerc edges Hamilton in busy practice session

FP2: Leclerc edges Hamilton in busy practice session

Published on 06 Sep 2019 16:30
3
By: Harry Mattocks

Charles Leclerc has topped the timesheets in the second practice session in Monza, edging out Lewis Hamilton by just 0.068s.

Leclerc set his best lap time in the first half of the session, before the rain hit the circuit for the second time on Friday.

The rain did not prevent cars from running however, as the teams scrambled to try and get some meaningful running under their belts. Cars were running on the medium and hard tyres for the majority of the session, with drivers still struggling to successfully negotiate the first chicane.

Hamilton was second, with his Mercedes team using both drivers to test the slipstream effect in preparation for qualifying on Saturday. They will be looking for the biggest tow that they can get as straight line speed is so important at Monza, especially due to the Ferrari engine being so strong.

The other Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel finished in third, 0.201s behind his teammate. The German was closely followed by Valtteri Bottas in fourth, with the Finn topping the speed trap at 340kph. This translates to 211mph, with greater speeds expected when the car is run in qualifying trim.

Next up was the two Red Bulls, with both drivers running a very thin rear wing in order to maximise their straight line speed. Max Verstappen was only 0.003s behind Bottas, with Alexander Albon a further three tenths behind.

Toro Rosso continued their encouraging start to the weekend, with Pierre Gasly just over a second behind Leclerc's best effort.

Romain Grosjean was eighth, closely followed by the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo was testing the track limits throughout the session, with the Australian kicking up some gravel at turn three.

Daniil Kvyat rounds out the top ten, with the Russian focusing on long runs and ending the session on the hard compound tyre.

It was a troubled session for Lando Norris in the McLaren, with the rookie spending the majority of the session in the garage with an oil leak. The team only managed to get him out on track to do a few timed laps at the end of the session, good enough for eighteenth.

Propping up the timesheets were the Williams duo of Robert Kubica and George Russell, with laps that were 2.759s and 3.335s behind Leclerc respectively.

F1Grand Prix Italy - Free practice 2

Monza - 06 September 2019

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:20.978

37
2

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:21.046

+0.068

32
3

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:21.179

+0.201

39
4

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:21.347

+0.369

34
5

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:21.350

+0.372

29
6

Alexander Albon

Red Bull Racing

1:21.589

+0.611

30
7

Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso

1:22.124

+1.146

42
8

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:22.153

+1.175

44
9

Daniel Ricciardo

Renault

1:22.249

+1.271

36
10

Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso

1:22.260

+1.282

37
11

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:22.338

+1.360

37
12

Carlos Sainz jr

McLaren

1:22.482

+1.504

32
13

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:22.511

+1.533

42
14

Kimi Räikkönen

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:22.523

+1.545

35
15

Lance Stroll

Racing Point

1:22.706

+1.728

32
16

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:22.882

+1.904

33
17

Antonio Giovinazzi

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:23.065

+2.087

35
18

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:23.561

+2.583

16
19

Robert Kubica

Williams

1:23.737

+2.759

29
20

George Russell

Williams

1:24.313

+3.335

23

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Replies (3)

mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Merc. speed is concerning...
- + 0
- Sep 6 2019 - 16:51
- abhidbgt
  
  Posts: 283
  The only thing that Ferrari had going for them isn't there anymore. It is concerning.
  + 0
  
  Sep 6 2019 - 18:40
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
More or less what I expected. It is Merc' we are talking about, of course they'd learn from Spa and then some. Now they have qualifying AND race pace. I doubt Ferrari will win this GP.
- + 0
- Sep 7 2019 - 17:43