Russell edges Leclerc to lead Mercedes one-two-three in Italian GP practice

George Russell led a Mercedes sweep of the top three in second practice at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Friday, posting a 1m22.559s lap to nudge Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc off the timesheets with team-mate Kimi Antonelli third.

The session only sparked to life after 20 minutes when the frontrunners switched from Pirelli’s hard compound to the soft tyre, which had barely featured in the opening practice hour. Antonelli was first to threaten at the top, setting the fastest first sector before traffic at the Parabolica forced him to abort his initial effort. On his next attempt he posted a 1m22.700s lap to go quickest, only for Russell to immediately respond with a 1m22.686s.

Leclerc, who had led FP1 for Ferrari, fired back with a 1m22.679s to reclaim the lead, but Russell answered with a more authoritative 1m22.559s that stood unchallenged for the remainder of the session as teams switched to long-run programmes. Leclerc and Antonelli were left to fill second and third.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris, winner of the last two grands prix, was fourth — four tenths adrift of Russell — while Lewis Hamilton was fifth in the second Ferrari, narrowly ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.

Arv Lindblad impressed for Racing Bulls, briefly holding third in the opening stages before settling for seventh, and Oliver Bearman was an encouraging eighth for the struggling Haas outfit.

Max Verstappen made his first appearance of the weekend in FP2 after handing his Red Bull to reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa for a mandatory rookie outing in the opening session. Verstappen struggled to find a comfortable balance on his RB22 — a front wing flap adjustment failing to resolve the issue — and could only manage ninth. Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten for Racing Bulls, with the Japanese driver getting a second consecutive weekend with his former team as Liam Lawson deputised for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull. Lawson placed 12th, behind Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

The session was not without incident. Leclerc spun at the second chicane after losing the rear of his Ferrari on the high sausage kerbs, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was placed under investigation after veering out of the pitlane into the path of Norris, who was forced to take avoiding action.