2024 Italian GP FP2: Hamilton quickest in second practice

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the second practice session ahead of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, with Mercedes teammate George Russell joining him on track in a car that had been damaged earlier in the day by Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton posted a lap time of 1:20.738, narrowly beating McLaren’s Lando Norris by just three-thousandths of a second. Carlos Sainz, driving an upgraded Ferrari, came in third, followed by Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc to complete the top five. The session was briefly interrupted when Haas driver Kevin Magnussen crashed into a barrier.

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The gap between Hamilton and Leclerc was just 0.15 seconds.

In the first practice session, reigning world champion Max Verstappen was the fastest, ahead of Leclerc and Norris, his closest competitor in the drivers’ standings. However, Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished 14th and 15th respectively in the second practice, as neither completed a full qualifying simulation.

Norris reduced Verstappen’s lead in the championship to 70 points at the previous race by winning the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, finishing over 20 seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver.

Russell’s appearance in second practice was delayed while Mercedes repaired his car, which was heavily damaged by F1 newcomer Antonelli, 18, after a collision with a wall during the first session. Russell joined the session 26 minutes late, focused on race preparation over lap time. Despite this, he managed to secure sixth place after a late run on soft tyres. Both Russell and Hamilton reported having overly hot seats in their Mercedes on the sweltering heat.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.

Williams’ Franco Colapinto continued his F1 debut, replacing the recently released Logan Sargeant for the last nine races of the season, before Carlos Sainz becomes Alex Albon’s permanent teammate in 2025. The Argentine locked up early in the second practice after sliding into the gravel at the end of the first, but overall performed well and was not significantly outpaced by Albon.

Italian GP FP2 Results

2024 Italian Grand Prix FP2, 30 August 2024

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:20.738		24
2	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	1:20.741	+0.003s	23
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:20.841	+0.103s	27
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:20.858	+0.120s	24
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.892	+0.154s	26
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:21.086	+0.348s	20
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	1:21.140	+0.402s	25
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	1:21.300	+0.562s	23
9	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:21.316	+0.578s	24
10	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:21.363	+0.625s	27
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:21.461	+0.723s	25
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:21.499	+0.761s	11
13	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	1:21.592	+0.854s	25
14	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:21.610	+0.872s	24
15	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:21.678	+0.940s	14
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	1:21.735	+0.997s	20
17	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	1:21.784	+1.046s	20
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	1:21.819	+1.081s	23
19	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	1:21.867	+1.129s	22
20	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:22.223	+1.485s	27

Sources:

Italian GP: Lewis Hamilton fastest in second practice ahead of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Skysports.com

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.