Lewis and George finish FP2 in P1 and P6, Kimi’s FP1 debut ends prematurely.
The second stop of the double-header after the summer break takes Formula 1 from Zandvoort to the Royal Park in Monza.
It was an eventful Friday for the team in Italy, with two red flags, one of which was unfortunately caused by our junior driver Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis, meanwhile, finished the second practice session with the fastest time of the day. George finished in P6.
Lewis started FP2 with his first run of the weekend on the Medium tyres. For his second run, he switched to a fresh set of Soft tyres, which he had used throughout FP1. On these tyres he set the fastest time of the session, three thousandths of a second ahead of Lando Norris.
George’s car needed some extra work by the mechanics in between the two sessions to repair the damage caused by Kimi’s shunt in FP1, so he joined the rest of the grid 20 minutes into FP2.
George completed his first laps of the day on the Medium tyres before the session was red-flagged because of an accident involving Kevin Magnussen at Turn 7. This interrupted George’s run and further reduced his track time.
The session resumed with 18 minutes remaining. Lewis continued his work on the Medium tyres he had run earlier in the session. George had another run on the same Medium tyres as before, before finishing the session with a run on new Soft tyres.
Kimi’s FP1 debut cut short
George watched FP1 from the garage as Kimi, who was making his F1 race weekend debut today, was behind the wheel of his car.
Unfortunately for the Italian, the session was short-lived with just five laps completed. He lost the car in the middle of the Parabolica and crashed into the barrier. FP1 was subsequently interrupted by a red flag for about 13 minutes.
The most important news was that Kimi was OK. The Italian apologised for crash, but he had the immediate and unwavering support of the team. „All good, Kimi. All good,“ came the message from Toto over the radio.
After a medical check-up he was back in the garage during the session. Another valuable step on his journey with the team.
Several drivers struggled with the track in FP1, including Williams debutant Franco Colapinto, who went off in the same corner as Kimi.
Lewis, meanwhile, completed 23 laps in the session – all on the Soft tyre, including shorter and longer runs. He ended up in P7. The lap times were difficult to interpret because of the different programmes and the interruption.
Kimi was back in action between the two F1 sessions. He finished sixth in F2 qualifying, two tenths off the fastest time. He had already completed the F2 session in the morning before his FP1 debut.
Significant track changes
The team brought some minor tweaks to the rear wing with them to Italy to maximise efficiency on the long straights.
But it’s not just the cars that have changed for the Italian Grand Prix, the track at the Royal Park in Monza has also had significant changes. The entire track has been resurfaced. In addition, several kerbs have been flattened, including T1-T2 and T8-T10.
The team will now spend the night analysing the data from the two sessions and prepare for FP3 on Saturday morning. The session starts at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST), followed by qualifying at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST).
Source And More Info : Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team