In a thrilling display of speed and precision, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton narrowly clinched the top spot in the second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The Mercedes driver edged out McLaren’s Lando Norris by an infinitesimal margin of just three-thousandths of a second, setting the stage for what promises to be an electrifying race weekend at the ‘Temple of Speed’.
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Hamilton’s blistering lap of 1 minute 20.738 seconds, achieved on the soft compound Pirelli tyres, underscored Mercedes’ potential on Monza’s high-speed straights. This pivotal session, crucial for fine-tuning car setups and understanding tyre degradation, saw immediate drama. Shortly after Hamilton’s chart-topping effort, the session was brought to a temporary halt when Haas driver Kevin Magnussen lost control and spun into the barriers at the challenging Roggia chicane, forcing a red flag incident.
The second hour of practice commenced under scorching conditions, with ambient temperatures soaring above 34 degrees Celsius – a true test of endurance for both machinery and drivers. George Russell, returning to his Mercedes cockpit after lending it to junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the opening session, faced an immediate setback. Due to the extensive repairs required on his W15 following Antonelli’s earlier mishap, Russell was confined to the garage for the initial 20 minutes of running, as Mercedes mechanics worked feverishly to make his car race-ready. Similarly, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez experienced an early delay, with his session impacted by a gearbox issue on his RB20.
Adding to the intrigue, both Red Bull drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, found themselves surprisingly outside the top ten for much of the session. The championship leaders appeared to struggle with the balance of their cars, a rare sight that raised eyebrows across the paddock and hinted at a potentially challenging weekend for the dominant team. Their inability to find a rhythm early on suggested that rivals might have a genuine opportunity to challenge their supremacy.
As the session got underway, almost the entire field initially opted for the medium compound tyres, focusing on longer runs and understanding how the tyres would perform over a race distance. Lando Norris quickly established a strong pace, logging a 1’21.605 on his very first push lap, signaling McLaren’s intent. Verstappen, meanwhile, was visibly grappling with his Red Bull, aborting his first flying lap after a moment of oversteer through the fast Lesmos corners, highlighting the balance issues his team was facing.
Local hero Charles Leclerc ignited the Tifosi’s hopes by briefly putting his Ferrari at the top of the timings with a 1’21.119. However, the McLarens soon responded, with Norris and Oscar Piastri switching to soft tyres and demonstrating formidable one-lap pace, quickly ascending to the top of the order. It was then that Lewis Hamilton, demonstrating his renowned ability to extract ultimate performance, shaved off another few milliseconds, claiming the provisional pole by a mere 0.003 seconds. Despite his blistering pace, Hamilton reported to his team that his seat was getting excessively hot – a recurring issue he had faced in the preceding session, which George Russell also soon encountered upon rejoining the track.
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Precisely 30 minutes into the session, the red flag was unfurled for a second time. Kevin Magnussen, attempting to navigate the challenging second Lesmo corner, slid off the circuit and speared his Haas VF-24 into the tyre barrier with considerable force. While the Danish driver was commendably quick to extricate himself from the damaged machine, appearing unharmed, the incident prematurely brought his practice day to an end. The extensive recovery and barrier repairs meant a significant delay, further compressing the valuable track time available to the teams.
With just under 20 minutes remaining on the clock, practice finally resumed. The focus shifted predominantly to high-fuel, long-run simulations, mimicking race conditions. The majority of the field continued their work on medium compound tyres, gathering crucial data on tyre wear and performance over sustained stints. However, a strategic shift was observed among some competitors, including Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jnr, who opted to switch from mediums to softs for their long runs, potentially seeking to understand the soft tyre’s degradation over a longer distance or to simulate different race scenarios.
In the closing minutes, as teams maximised their track time, George Russell was the sole driver among the frontrunners to improve his best time, climbing up to sixth position on his soft tyres – a commendable effort given his delayed start to the session. As the chequered flag eventually waved, bringing the second practice session to a close, Lewis Hamilton’s fractional advantage of three-thousandths of a second over Lando Norris remained unchallenged, highlighting the intense level of competition at the very pinnacle of Formula 1. This incredibly tight margin serves as a potent indicator of the thrilling battle that awaits fans in qualifying and the main race.
Beyond the top two, Carlos Sainz Jr. put in a commendable performance for Ferrari, finishing exactly a tenth of a second adrift of Hamilton in third position, further boosting the home crowd’s optimism. Oscar Piastri secured fourth place, splitting the two Ferraris, with Charles Leclerc close behind in fifth. George Russell’s late improvement saw him finish sixth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s strong showing for Haas, Daniel Ricciardo in the RB, and the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, completing the top ten. Red Bull’s struggles were evident in the final standings, with both Verstappen and Perez languishing further down the order, an unexpected turn of events that adds an extra layer of anticipation to the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix weekend.
2024 Italian Grand Prix Second Practice Result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’20.738 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’20.741 | 0.003 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’20.841 | 0.103 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’20.858 | 0.120 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’20.892 | 0.154 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’21.086 | 0.348 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’21.140 | 0.402 |
| 8 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’21.300 | 0.562 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’21.316 | 0.578 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’21.363 | 0.625 |
| 11 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’21.461 | 0.723 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’21.499 | 0.761 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’21.592 | 0.854 |
| 14 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’21.610 | 0.872 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’21.678 | 0.940 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’21.735 | 0.997 |
| 17 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’21.784 | 1.046 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’21.819 | 1.081 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’21.867 | 1.129 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’22.223 | 1.485 |
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2024 Italian Grand Prix
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