FP2: Hamilton leads Norris and Sainz during close second practice at Monza while Magnussen brings out red flags

Lewis Hamilton put himself at the top of the timesheets in a very tight second practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, with the leading five cars all within a tenth and a half of each other in a session that was briefly interrupted following a crash for Kevin Magnussen.

It was a busy start to proceedings when the session kicked off at 1700 local time, but one driver who didn't head straight out on track was George Russell. The Briton was forced to wait while the team worked on his Mercedes following Kimi Antonelli’s crash in the car during FP1.

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Most of the pack were running the medium compound for their opening laps, with just Daniel Ricciardo bucking the trend by bolting on the soft. Charles Leclerc set the pace during these runs with a lap of 1m 21.119s, putting him 0.145s ahead of Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz in a welcome sight for the Tifosi watching on.

Attentions soon turned to the qualifying simulations as both Russell and the Red Bull of Sergio Perez finally joined the action, with the latter having undergone a precautionary gearbox change between sessions.

Lando Norris initially shot to the top of the timesheets before Hamilton went quicker by a mere three thousandths of a second, the seven-time world champion pumping in a lap of 1m 20.738s despite reporting a hot seat over the radio.

The red flags were thrown as the session reached its halfway point after Magnussen crashed into the barriers at the second Lesmo, adding to the Haas driver’s woes following a fine for the team due to impeding in FP1.

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With the Dane fortunately emerging unscathed, a lengthy queue formed in the pit lane as the action resumed following a 12-minute pause. The remainder of the session saw some variations in programmes, with Perez running out of sync as he tried to complete his hot lap amidst plenty of traffic on track.

As focus switched to long runs for most, it was Hamilton’s fast lap that held onto P1, just ahead of the McLaren of Norris in P2, Sainz in P3 and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri in P4. Leclerc rounded out the top five, with the Monegasque only 0.154s behind Hamilton’s time.

Russell slotted into sixth after completing his qualifying simulation in the final minutes, and Nico Hulkenberg gave Haas something to smile about by setting the seventh fastest time ahead of Ricciardo in eighth for RB. The Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll followed in ninth and 10th respectively.

Having caught the eye with a strong showing in FP1, Valtteri Bottas continued a positive day for Kick Sauber by claiming P11. Magnussen was 12th after his earlier crash, with Alex Albon 13th for Williams and Max Verstappen a low-key 14th in the Red Bull, in front of team mate Perez in 15th.

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Yuki Tsunoda took P16 for RB, while Franco Colapinto completed his first full day on track as a Williams driver in P17. The Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were P18 and P19, ahead of Zhou Guanyu at the rear of the pack in the Kick Sauber.

The teams and drivers will now delve into the data before returning to the track on Saturday for the weekend’s third and final practice session at 1230 local time, ahead of qualifying later in the day at 1600.