Formula 1 put an end to Friday’s day of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix with the dispute of the second free practice on the asphalt of Monza, a session that despite the appearance of a red flag that lasted several minutes, enjoyed of great activity on the track at practically all times.
At the end of the 60 minutes of Free Practice 2 , Carlos Sainz set the best time of the day with a 1:21.664 , 0.143s ahead of Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc completed the top three positions, also less than two tenths (0.193s) behind his Ferrari teammate.
Behind the three big favourites, Lando Norris posted the fourth fastest time of FP2, over half a second from Sainz ‘s time. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, at the wheel of the two Mercedes, were fifth and seventh respectively, with Sergio Pérez sandwiched between them, a world away from the best mark (0.730s)
The two Alpines occupied the following positions, being the first single-seaters to overcome the barrier of a second difference compared to the best time in Free Practice 2. Esteban Ocon finished eighth and Fernando Alonso ninth, ahead of Alex Albon who was able to complete the top 10 thanks to the great top speed of his Williams.
Mick Schumacher caused a red flag in the middle of the session when the engine of his Haas decided to turn off at the moment in which the German driver was tracing the second variant, very close to causing an accident that the driver was finally able to save before parking his car to the side of the track.
Results of Free Practice 2 (FP2) of the Italian Grand Prix 2022 F1
Click here to see the full Monza results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
24 | 1,21,664 | 255,373 | ||
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
27 | 1’21.807 | 0.143 | 0.143 | 254.926 |
| 3 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
23 | 1’21.857 | 0.193 | 0.050 | 254.771 |
| 4 |  Lando Norris |
 |
29 | 1’22.338 | 0.674 | 0.481 | 253.282 |
| 5 | George Russell |
 |
24 | 1’22.386 | 0.722 | 0.048 | 253.135 |
| 6 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
26 | 1’22,394 | 0.730 | 0.008 | 253,110 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
25 | 1’22.503 | 0.839 | 0.109 | 252.776 |
| 8 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
29 | 1’22.728 | 1.064 | 0.225 | 252.088 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
28 | 1’22.752 | 1.088 | 0.024 | 252.015 |
| 10 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
24 | 1’22.835 | 1.171 | 0.083 | 251.763 |
| see results | |||||||
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
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Photo de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Summary of Free Practice 2 (FP2) of the Italian Grand Prix 2022 Formula 1
After free practice 1 that was calmer than expected, the second practice session of the Italian Grand Prix began with a lot of activity on the track, in fact, only Valtteri Bottas remained inside the garage after five minutes of action.
Carlos Sainz , a Ferrari driver, a team that runs at home this weekend with the support of the tifosi, was the first to set a benchmark with a 1:23.156, which was quickly overtaken by Max Verstappen , who rose to first place with his 1m23.021s, both on the medium tyres, as was almost the entire grid.
Charles Leclerc , on his first timed lap and with the help of a slipstream, greatly improved the Dutchman’s fastest time up to that point and took first place with a 1m22.307s. Meanwhile, Checo Pérez was placed fourth, positioning the four favorites in the first four positions.
Verstappen was quick to respond and rose to first place with a 1:22.303, just 0.004s faster than the Monegasque driver from the Maranello team. Behind the big favorites, the Mercedes and Alonso were the fastest, more than a second.
Bottas, who was the last to go out on the track, after 10 minutes of Free Practice 2, was the first to appear on the Italian track with the softest Pirelli compound, which on his first lap allowed him to climb to fourth place, at 0.690s from Verstappen.
Little by little the time table stabilized as the drivers progressed in their race simulations, accumulating laps on their medium and hard compounds, without improving the times.
With the first third of FP2 completed , practically all the drivers returned to the pits after completing the first part of their programs and except for one or two single-seaters, there was silence in almost all sectors of Monza .
After a few minutes of rest, little by little the cars were returning to the asphalt, although with a big difference, changing the medium and hard ones for the soft ones.
Alonso was one of the first to cross the finish line on red tyres, clocking a 1m22.752s that saw him climb to fourth position, although he was quickly beaten by Norris ‘s McLaren , which was around four tenths faster.
From above, Verstappen aborted his first lap after an error, but on the second attempt he improved and dropped to 1:21.807. Seconds later, Mick Schumacher caused a red flag by parking his Haas to the side of the track after detecting a mechanical failure halfway through the second variation that almost caused him to have an accident.
After a period of inactivity on track as the German driver’s car was retired, Free Practice 2 restarted with just over 20 minutes still on the clock and with many drivers not yet having recorded a time on the softer tyres.
Sainz was the first to improve and placed first with a 1:21.664, improving Verstappen’s time by 0.143, a time that his teammate Leclerc could not improve , who was third at 0.193s. The two Mercedes did the same and were positioned fifth and seventh respectively, with Russell ahead. Pérez , meanwhile, was confirmed with a time that left him sixth, 0.730s behind the Spaniard from Ferrari.
Once these laps were complete, some drivers continued their race simulations on the soft tyres, while others preferred to return to the garage and ride the medium again to continue accumulating data on the yellow compound.
In the last minutes of the session, practically nobody improved their times and Sainz finished with the best time of FP2, ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc. Behind, the Aston Martins finished 17th and 18th, just ahead of Nicholas Latifi and a Mick Schumacher who suffered mechanical problems.
