Russell edges Leclerc to top Italian GP practice as Mercedes and Ferrari trade blows at Monza

George Russell topped second practice at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Friday, setting a 1m22.559s lap to edge Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc off the timesheets, with Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli completing the top three.

The session was largely processional on hard tyres in its opening phase, with Russell leading that early running too. The action intensified past the 20-minute mark when the frontrunners switched to Pirelli’s soft compound — used only sparingly in FP1 — triggering a three-way shootout between Russell, Leclerc and Antonelli.

Antonelli was first to fire, briefly going quickest before traffic at Monza’s Parabolica chicane forced him to abort a lap. On his next clean attempt, the Italian set a 1m22.700s to go top. Russell immediately responded with a 1m22.686s, only for Leclerc to snatch the lead back with a 1m22.679s. Russell then settled the matter with a 1m22.559s that stood unchallenged as teams switched to long-run simulations for the remainder of the session.

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

Arving Lindblad impressed on his Racing Bulls debut, briefly holding third in the early stages before finishing seventh. Oliver Bearman was an encouraging eighth for the struggling Haas team.

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 FP1. The Dutchman struggled for balance throughout, a front wing flap adjustment failing to resolve his issues, and could only manage ninth. Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten in the second Racing Bulls entry; Tsunoda is standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar, with Liam Lawson deputising at Red Bull in his place. Lawson finished 12th, behind Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

The session was not without incident. Leclerc spun at the second chicane after catching the high sausage kerbs, while Lance Stroll drew scrutiny after pulling out of the Aston Martin pitlane directly into the path of Norris, who was forced to take evasive action. The FIA race stewards confirmed the impeding incident would be investigated after the session.