Vettel moves ahead in second practice

F1 Grand Prix, GP Italy, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber made a step forward during FP2 as drivers started to try out the softer tyres. While Vettel has reasonable advantage, the gaps behind second placed Mark Webber are still close.

As track temperature rose to 44 degrees, FP2 kicks off, with many cars immediately on track to get going. Mark Webber though is stuck in the pitlane for 10 more minutes as the team are finishing a change of KERS batteries for him.

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Just like in FP1, many drivers are struggling with brake balance. Hamilton went off several times, just as well as his teammate and Romain Grosjean.

Little over the halfway point, Grosjean improves and posts a time identical to his team mate. It's an interesting fact for Lotus to take account, knowing that Raikkonen is running the team's new longer wheelbase E21, contrary to the Frenchman who will have to do with the shorter version due to a lack of spare parts.

15 minutes from the end marks the end of the session for Massa as he returns to the pits stuck in third gear. Upon return, he's told not to switch to second gear, but rather skip when shifting down to first. It remains to be seen whether the issue can be resolved without a gearbox change.

Other than the mishap, some car's brakes also began to show wear at the end of the session. Especial on the Force India of Sutil and the McLaren of Button, lots of brake dust is thrown up into the air at turn 1, requiring a closer look from the team to ensure the brakes will last the race.

In the end, times again looked pretty close, with the medium tyre seemingly only offering a few tenths over the hardest compound. Vettel though somewhere found 6 tenths over the competition, led by his Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber.