Mercedes set the pace by almost a second in both practice sessions while Albon and Norris took best of the rest status in FP1 and FP2 respectively. Ferrari’s woes continue as the cars struggled around the track and Verstappen made a rare error, crashing in FP1. However, he was able to finish the session with a fixed car.
Report:
It appears that the banning of qualifying ‘Party Modes’ has actually benefited the silver arrows as they romped to a comfortable lead in Friday practice. Valtteri Bottas took the honours in the first session, while Lewis Hamilton claimed 1st in FP2. It was a flawless performance from the two Mercedes and they seem remarkably comfortable going into the business end of the weekend. However, there may be some concern that they have set their engine modes too high and they may be hard pressed towards the end of the race.
Red Bull continue to be the closest rival to Mercedes, but they were beaten to ‘best of the rest’ status in FP2. Alexander Albon finished 3rd in FP1, and team-mate Max Verstappen had a brief encounter with the wall. This wasn’t as serious as the TV images originally suggested, and the Dutchman was able to limp back to the pits. 20 minutes and a Herculean effort from his mechanics later, he was actually able to continue his running. The second session was less successful for the pair, Verstappen managed 5th, but Albon finished a disappointing 14th.
Ferrari continue to plumb new depths with a Friday to forget. While there was an improvement in FP2, both drivers complained about the performance of the SF1000. Both cars had off track excursions, Sebastian Vettel having the most serious, spinning out of the first Lesmo. His rear wing made contact with the wall, but caused no damage. Charles Leclerc managed to scrape up to 9th in FP2 and Vettel finished 12th, despite finishing 19th in FP1.
Midfield Mix-up:
But, as with most of the season so far, the midfield battle continues to provide the main entertainment. Lando Norris finished a superb 3rd in FP2 and will have boosted the hopes of the Papaya team. Yet again, McLaren managed to get both cars into the top 10 in both sessions, and Carlos Sainz backed up Norris’ performance with a solid 6th place.
Alpha Tauri had a two surprisingly good sessions with Pierre Gasly and Daniel Kvyat taking a 4th place finish each. To prove these weren’t just flash in the pan moments, Gasly also managed 6th in FP1 while Kvyat took 7th in FP2. The Red Bull junior team may be the surprise hit of the weekend.
Renault were expected to challenge the Red Bulls for the 3rd place spot this weekend, but didn’t have the expected confidence around the Italian track. However, as is usual with practice, there are numerous unknowns to consider and the French outfit have not been written off yet. Esteban Ocon finished 12th and 11th respectively, while Daniel Ricciardo took 9th then 15th.
Racing Point seem to have come back stronger after Spa as Sergio Perez took a 7th and 10th place finish. Lance Stroll came 12th and 8th in the partner car and is expected to perform well come Saturday. However, will the Canadian will be able to match his best performance of 4th (promoted to 2nd) from 2017?
Heading toward the tail end of the grid, Haas and Alfa Romeo didn’t really make an impression. Romain Grosjean was Haas’ highest finish of 13th in FP1 while Anotonio Giovinazzi came 13th in FP2 at his home event. Neither team are expected to grace the top 10 at any time and both teams will be fighting to escape Q1 tomorrow.
And, as Williams head in to their final event as an independent constructor, Roy Nissany provided a shock that Nicolas Latifi would not have been happy to see. The Israeli driver made his second FP1 appearance and actually managed to outpace the Canadian by almost 3 tenths, as well as finishing in 18th, above Sebastian Vettel. FP2 was a a disheartening session for the British outfit as both cars finished in the bottom 2 places, by a significant margin.
It seems that Mercedes may provide yet another dominant display this weekend, but third place may still be completely up for grabs. However, judging by the F3 qualifying this afternoon, Saturday may yet throw some surprises our way.
Feature Image Credit: F1.com
