The second free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix saw George Russell set the fastest pace, displacing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc from the top spot.
During the latter half of the hour, Russell posted a benchmark time of 1m22.559s amidst a competitive battle for the top positions among himself, Leclerc, and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, securing the leading three spots.
After some initial, slower running on the hard compound—where Russell also set the early pace—the session intensified around the 20-minute mark as the leading drivers switched to Pirelli’s soft compound tyres, which had seen minimal action during the morning practice.
Running the soft, red-marked rubber, Antonelli went quickest through the opening sector but had to abort his lap and return to the pit lane after encountering slower cars at the iconic Parabolica bend.
With a clear track on his subsequent run, Antonelli posted a 1m22.700s to claim the top spot, only for Russell to edge ahead moments later with a lap of 1m22.686s.
Leclerc, the pacesetter from FP1, hit back with a 1m22.679s lap, but Russell swiftly responded to reclaim first place by lowering the benchmark to a solid 1m22.559s.
This lap time held up for the remainder of the session as teams transitioned to high-fuel, long-run simulations, leaving Leclerc and Antonelli to settle for second and third respectively.
Charles Leclerc behind the wheel of his Ferrari
Image credit: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, the current world champion and winner of the previous two races, took fourth place, finishing a mere four-tenths of a second off Russell’s pace. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton claimed fifth in the second Ferrari, just ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
Arvid Lindblad delivered an eye-catching performance for Racing Bulls, briefly occupying third place early on before ultimately securing seventh. Meanwhile, Oliver Bearman claimed a promising eighth-place finish for a struggling Haas squad.
This session marked Max Verstappen’s track debut for the weekend, having sat out FP1 to let Red Bull reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa complete a mandatory young driver test. In typical Friday fashion for the Milton Keynes team, Verstappen struggled to find a comfortable balance with his RB22, with adjustments to the front wing flap failing to yield major progress.
As the top Red Bull representative, Verstappen finished down in ninth, while Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten. Tsunoda is spending another weekend alongside Liam Lawson, who was standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull. Lawson ended the second practice session in 12th, finishing just behind Franco Colapinto in the Alpine.
Significant incidents were sparse, save for Leclerc spinning at the second chicane after losing rear-end traction on the prominent sausage kerbs, and a risky impeding moment involving Lance Stroll of Aston Martin. Exiting the pit lane, the Canadian driver swung directly into the path of Norris, forcing the McLaren driver to steer clear. This near-miss is set to be reviewed by the race stewards post-session.
Additionally, there was apprehension at Audi regarding an unusual sound coming from the V6 engine in Gabriel Bortoleto’s car, which prompted the Brazilian driver to cut his session short.
