Hamilton sets FP2 pace in interrupted session

Lewis Hamilton led FP2 at Formula 1’s 2024 Italian Grand Prix by 0.003 seconds from Lando Norris, while a Max Verstappen Parabolica slip and then a mid-session stoppage kept Red Bull outside the top 10.

FP2 was halted for over 10 minutes through the start of the second half of the one-hour session due to Kevin Magnussen crashing his Haas at the second Lesmo.

In the early stages on the medium tyres, the home crowd enjoyed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz knocking Hamilton and Norris down from the benchmark time with his 1m21.264s, before Leclerc went even quicker with a 1m21.119s – getting away with turning in from slightly on the grass on approach to the della Roggia chicane.

For the second weekend in a row in an FP2 session, there was an unusually early switch to the qualifying simulation runs – as the teams worked to see how the softs can cope with multiple runs on the new asphalt here.

The McLaren drivers led the switch and duly blitzed to the top times – with Oscar Piastri getting ahead on a 1m20.858s that featured then best times in the first and second sectors, but Norris was able to nip ahead by 0.007s with his 1m20.851s.

At this stage, Hamilton slotted in 0.317s slower and was not even able to head Leclerc’s earlier time on the mediums, but the drivers were about to show it is possible to get multiple push laps from the C5 rubber in 2024.

First Norris bettered the first-place benchmark with a 1m20.791, then Hamilton forged ahead on a 1m20.738s – that gave him first place by 0.003s – with both coming into the pits for front wing adjustments only between their two flying laps on the softs.

Just behind, Verstappen’s first softs effort had to be aborted as he had to catch an oversteer snap going through the Parabolica as he was close the lap.

Having gone into the runoff on the outside, Verstappen backed off and started touring around to possibly start a second attempt after cooling his tyres, but the session was then interrupted by Magnussen’s crash.

The Dane lost the rear of his Haas traversing Lesmo two on a soft tyre flier and spun off backwards into the gravel trap – ending up buried in the barriers, nose-first.

After he had climbed from the wreckage, the red flags flew for 12 minutes, after which the pack headed back out to complete the session with the typical end-of-FP2 race…