Italian GP Friday practice

By: Geoff Creighton

Summary


	Vettel leads Ferrari 1-2 after gravel trip
	Hamilton third ahead of Bottas and Red Bulls
	Session had early red flag for Ericsson crash
	DRS stayed open, sending Sauber into wall at first chicane before rolling - Ericsson 'OK'
	Perez fastest on drying track in FP1
	Check out odds for the weekend with Pitstop Betting

Status: Stopped

11:51 Driver, Team
Vettel, Ferrari
Raikkonen, Ferrari
Hamilton, Mercedes
Bottas, Mercedes
Verstappen, Red Bull
Ricciardo, Red Bull
Ocon, Force India
Perez, Force India
Leclerc, Sauber
Hulkenberg, Renault

17:39 And that's a wrap for our coverage of Friday practice at Monza. Ferrari seems to have the edge on Mercedes out front, while Racing Point Force India and Sauber lead the way in the midfield - although the latter has suffered a strange DRS-induced crash setback with Marcus Ericsson.

Tune in tomorrow for free practice three and qualifying, and keep an eye out on Motorsport.com and Autosport for news and reaction.

Italian GP: Vettel fastest in FP2 as Ericsson shunts heavily

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in Friday's second free practice for the Italian Grand Prix after Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson survived a high-speed crash.

17:34

17:33 FP2 order:
1 Vettel
2 Raikkonen
3 Hamilton
4 Bottas
5 Verstappen
6 Ricciardo
7 Ocon
8 Perez
9 Leclerc
10 Hulkenberg
11 Grosjean
12 Sainz
13 Magnussen
14 Gasly
15 Sirotkin
16 Hartley
17 Stroll
18 Alonso
19 Vandoorne
20 Ericsson (no time)

17:32 Verstappen ended the session with a pretty good mid-1m24s laptime so maybe Red Bull can still be in the mix on race pace, although at first glance Mercedes and especially Ferrari look quicker.

17:31 Now it's Sainz reporting a "very strange vibration coming from the rear".

17:30 The chequered flag is out, Vettel tops FP1 from fellow Ferrari driver Raikkonen. Mercedes scores a 3-4, Red Bull has to do with a 5-6.

17:30 "Check the vibration for me," Grosjean asks. He's told the team can indeed see "a lot of vibration".

17:29 The chequered flag is approaching. Bottas, currently at 33 laps, will end the session either top or joint-top (with Gasly) of the mileage rankings.

17:25 In terms of race pace, Mercedes and Ferrari are in the mid-to-high-1m24s range. The Red Bulls are in the low-1m25s and will definitely need some help if they're to score a podium here.

17:22 Leclerc goes ninth, 1.860s off the pace. He's within half a tenth of the two Force India cars, which are leading the midfield.

17:21 There's still going to be a change in the field further back, mind, as Charles Leclerc is finally out on the supersoft compound.

17:20 Raikkonen is currently second in the session and within range of team-mate Vettel.

He's 3/1 to win the race with Pitstop Betting. Download today to play.

17:20 An hour and 20 minutes down, 10 minutes to go. With long runs well underway, we're heading for a Ferrari 1-2 in the classification.

17:19 "Grazie, to get the car ready again," radioes Vettel, who is now back out on track on supersofts. Raikkonen has switched to the soft compound.

17:18 Alonso get a tow from Vandoorne on approach to Parabolica, but is not far off from clipping the left-rear tyre of his fellow McLaren driver as he overtakes.

The Spaniard improves on that lap but remains 18th.

17:14 Leclerc's improvement, coupled with a better lap from Harttley, means the two McLarens are now at the very bottom of the timing screens, excluding Ericsson. Another fun weekend beckons for the Woking-based team.

17:13 With the DRS dramas seemingly settled, Leclerc moves up to 14th place, 2.349s. But that was on softs - Sauber is yet to try the supersoft compound.

17:12 Replays show Leclerc did actually impede Gasly, and held up his hand to apologise as he straightlined the chicane to get out of the way.

17:10 "Ahh, Leclerc blocked me," Gasly complains. How very FP2.

17:09

17:09 Raikkonen and Hamilton have followed suit, but Vettel is having to wait.

17:08 Just over 20 minutes to go, Bottas has gone out on used supersofts and is likely embarking on a long run.

17:07 Current order:
1 Vettel
2 Raikkonen, +0.270s
3 Hamilton, +0.287s
4 Bottas, +0.698s
5 Verstappen, +1.049s
6 Ricciardo, +1.191s
7 Ocon, +1.825s
8 Perez, +1.837s
9 Hulkenberg, +1.958s
10 Grosjean, +1.972s
11 Sainz, +2.088s
12 Magnussen, +2.218s
13 Gasly, +2.297s
14 Sirotkin, +2.409s
15 Sirotkin, +2.461s
16 Vandoorne, +2.979s
17 Alonso, +2.996s
18 Hartley, +3.018s
19 Leclerc, +3.280s

17:04

17:04 "You can use DRS, close manually. Rear wing is looking all okay from our side," is what Leclerc is told.

17:03 Vettel has put 10 laps on that supersoft set but he was still very fast - quickest of all through S1 before going off.

There's a minor crack on the rear wing, but that seems to be the extent of the damage.

17:01 "Car should be okay, check the rear wing endplate," Vettel says.

17:01 His Ferrari SF71H nudges against the outside barrier after spinning. He manages to get out of the gravel trap and drive the car into pitlane.

17:00 Vettel's off at Parabolica!

16:59 The Red Bulls have switched places, Verstappen now ahead of Ricciardo - but Vettel's recent improvement has left both of them more than a second off the pace.

The good news? The two Force Indias, best of the midfield, are over six tenths back from Ricciardo.

16:58 "There is something a bit strange on the rear right of my car, in the mirror. Like something is hanging there," Gasly reports.

16:57 Vettel finds over three tenths to go top on a 1m21.105s.

16:57 Hamilton goes second, just 0.017s slower than Raikkonen. He might have benefitted from a tow from Alonso - but then again, the dirty air from the McLaren may very well have hurt him at Parabolica. Hard to tell.

16:56 Hamilton is consistently quicker than the Ferraris through the first sector, but he's struggling to match them over a lap. He looks to have ruined his most recent lap by dipping his left wheels into the gravel on exit of the Roggia chicane.

16:54 Vettel improves to a 1m21.375s, but Raikkonen goes even quicker right away, producing a 1m21.375s.

16:54 "Argh, he didn't move, did he?" Verstappen asks his team of Hamilton, who didn't move out of his way as quick as the Dutchman would've liked.

16:53 Encouraging supersoft lap from Ricciardo takes him fifth, 0.580s off Vettel's pace. Verstappen is a further tenth adrift.

16:53 Hamilton was well on course to beat Vettel after two sectors, but shipped all sorts of laptime in the final sector. Could that be Mercedes' straightline speed deficit coming into play, or just circumstance?