Lando Norris was the fastest driver in the second free practice session at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Friday. He set the pace early on, helping him finish top of the timesheets. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’ Carlos Sainz also showed strong pace, finishing close behind Norris.
Lewis Hamilton came in fifth place, just behind Oscar Piastri, as Norris dominated the session.
All 20 cars hit the track quickly when the session started. Notably, Piastri took back control of his McLaren from F2 driver Alex Dunne, while Franco Colapinto drove his Alpine again after their initial run in FP1.
Early in the session, Piastri posted the fastest time with a 1 minute 21.212 seconds, despite having a cracked mirror on his car. Norris, who also lost a mirror, quickly improved to a 1 minute 21.012 seconds on medium tires. Both drivers ran their fastest laps on medium rubber at this stage.
Things got exciting when Alpine’s Pierre Gasly went too deep into the Ascari chicane, sliding through gravel and scattering stones on the track. Shortly after, Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes at Lesmo 2, stuck his car in the gravel, and caused a red flag. Marshals worked quickly to clear the track, leading to a brief pause in the session.
During this break, teams made some repairs, including fixing mirrors on Piastri’s and Norris’s cars. Once the track reopened with about 45 minutes remaining, drivers pushed harder with different tire choices—medium and hard compounds. Leclerc clocked a 1:20.937, Verstappen beat that with a 1:20.710, and Sainz set a time of 1:20.583.
As the session moved into its second half, drivers switched to soft tires, which are faster but less durable. Norris posted an impressive best lap of 1:19.878 on soft rubber, despite losing control momentarily exiting the Roggia chicane.
However, not all went smoothly. Leclerc ran wide at Lesmo 2 and said his car had “no grip at all.” Verstappen also struggled, describing his car as “really jumpy” and nervous over bumps.
Overall, it was an exciting and busy practice session, with Norris showing strong pace ahead of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
