MONZA, Italy – McLaren's Lando Norris set the benchmark during Friday's second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix, clocking a time just 0.072 seconds faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the high-speed Monza circuit. Williams driver Carlos Sainz completed the top three, trailing Norris by under a tenth of a second in a session where the top four drivers were separated by less than 0.2 seconds.
Title Contender Bounces Back
Norris, seeking to recover from his Dutch Grand Prix retirement last weekend, demonstrated strong long-run pace after finishing sixth in the earlier session. The British driver acknowledged the unexpected competitiveness: "Normally we’d have a one-second gap, but everything’s much tighter here. We improved from FP1 though, and being P1 despite that is positive." He admitted McLaren’s performance dips slightly on Monza’s low-downforce configuration compared to high-downforce circuits.
Antonelli’s Repeat Incident
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli triggered a red flag when he beached his car at Turn 7 – mirroring his Friday incident at Zandvoort a week prior. The 19-year-old Italian explained: "I pushed too hard on braking. Confidence remains high despite the setback." Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has publicly backed the young driver amid this challenging run.
Championship Implications
Championship leader Oscar Piastri finished fourth after missing FP1, where McLaren fulfilled rookie running requirements with Alex Dunne. McLaren later received a reprimand for releasing Piastri too early post-red flag. Ferrari showed strength at their home circuit with Leclerc’s pace and Lewis Hamilton placing fifth despite a gravel excursion. Sky Sports F1 analyst Karun Chandhok noted: "Ferrari, Williams, and Red Bull could challenge McLaren for pole."
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