Ferrari Shines โat Monza in Second Free Practice; Hamilton Leads Leclerc and Sainz
(From Daniele, Monza) Ferrari delivered a strong performance โat their home Grand โคPrix, bouncing backโข from a challenging Friday in the Netherlands with a promising start โขto the Italian โGrand Prix weekend in the second free practice session.
Monza wasโ alight โwith red โasโ Ferrari showed pace in FP2: Lewis Hamilton โtopped the timesheets, edging out Charles Leclerc, who โappeared agreeableโ pushing when needed. This positive โshowing is a crucial boost โคfor the team, especially as Leclerc faces a five-place โขgrid โฃpenalty โregardless โขof qualifying โคresults. The team,sporting โa special liveryโ in honour of โคNikiโ Lauda,seesโ this home race as a vitalโ chance to turn around a challenging season,mirroringโ last year’s unexpected victory forโ Leclerc.
The track characteristics โคfavor high speed and overtaking, making it theoretically less suited to McLaren. However, โMcLaren has demonstratedโข the ability to be competitive โon any circuit. Lando norris struggled in the papaya team’s session, experiencing issues with โขcar setup and grip, leadingโ to excursions on the gravel and a sixth-place finish. Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne also โคhad seat โtime in the โคother McLaren.
The Irish driver, in โhis 16th time โon track, focused on gaining experience rather than pushing for a fast lap. carlos sainz, โฃaโ former Ferrari โฃdriverโ and fanโ favorite, secured third position, capitalizing on the speed potential of his Williams car. Kimiโ Antonelli delivered a strong recovery to โfifth, despite โฃa brief trackโ excursion, finding a good rhythm. George russell’s sessionโข was cut short byโ aโ late reliability issue. Max Verstappen finished fourth, half aโข second off the pace, but remains a threat if he can optimize โฃhis car’s setup โคto address the low grip he reported. Max complained of the very little adherence.
