FP2: Hamilton pips Norris to top second Monza practice

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark on the second one-hour practice session at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, beating the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Ferrari of Arlos Sainz. F1technical's lead journalist Balázs Szabo reports from the Monza circuit.

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in a closely matched second practice, narrowly beating the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

Oscar Piastri took fourth while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended up down in P5. It is worth noting that the two Ferraris only completed a single qualifying simulation lap because of a red flag caused by Kevin Magnussen while their closest rivals managed to perform two hot laps on the softs.

George Russell had a difficult opening day at Monza. The British racer handed over his W15 to F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Free Practice One.

However, with the Italian sensation crashing only ten minutes into the session, Mercedes was forced to rebuild Russell's car.

Despite working tirelessly between the two sessions, the Brackley-based outfit was unable to complete the repair job in time, which meant the Russell missed the opening 20 minutes of the session.

After the Kevin Magnussen lost control of his Haas at the second chicane, Russell lost more time, but he was able to set the sixth quickest lap with a late effort.

Having finished the opening session atop, Max Verstappen found himself down in P14 after he was unable to complete clean laps on the soft tyres.

More to follow....