Lewis Hamilton sets pace in Italian GP FP2 as Kevin Magnussen crashes
Crash.net's Lewis Larkam was at Monza to see Lewis Hamilton top practice
Outgoing Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton narrowly edged McLaren’s Lando Norris to the fastest time in second practice at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton lapped the Monza circuit just 0.003 seconds quicker than Norris, the winner of last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, during the soft tyre runs in FP2.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who Hamilton will replace next year at the Italian outfit, was third-quickest, 0.103s adrift.
A tightly-contested second practice saw the top five drivers separated by just 0.154s, with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth for McLaren and Ferrari.
Second practice was disrupted by a crash for Kevin Magnussen, who lost control of his Haas at the second Lesmo and slid into the barriers, causing the second red flag of the day.
World champion Max Verstappen was only 14th after bailing out of his soft tyre push lap after running wide at the final corner.
George Russell finished sixth after missing the first 20 minutes of running as Mercedes continued to repair his car following Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s huge crash during his debut practice outing in FP1.
Nico Hulkenberg put his Haas seventh, ahead of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and the Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who rounded out the top-10.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
