After a relatively smooth FP1, unless your name was George Russell, Friday’s 2025 Italian GP FP2 session delivered a different look at the pecking order heading into the remainder of the weekend. With track evolution, a red flag, and teams still juggling low-downforce setups, FP2 was a fascinating look at how the Italian GP may shake out.
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Green Flag, No Wait, Red?
McLaren entered FP2 looking to bounce back from their earlier struggles, and Lando Norris immediately gave the papaya fans some hope by taking P1. His early lap, however, was more than 1.4 seconds off FP1 benchmarks. Oscar Piastri, sitting out the morning session, got to work quickly and briefly grabbed top spot with 52 minutes left, though his time also sat over a second down on Ferrari’s earlier pace.
The first real drama came at Lesmo 2, where Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli ran wide and beached his car in the gravel, triggering a red flag with 50 minutes to go.
Green Again
With around 44 minutes left on the clock, the session resumed. As the track rubbered in, Carlos Sainz made his intent clear in his Williams. First showing solid speed among the Mercedes-powered cars, he then snatched P1 with a 1:20.583 with 35 minutes left. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also briefly grabbed the top spot before dropping into a fight within the top six.
Sauber impressed as well, Nico Hülkenberg slotted into P3, just 0.363s behind Norris, while Gabriel Bortoleto reached P5. At the 26-minute mark, an unusual Top Five order saw Norris, Hamilton, Albon, Hülkenberg, and Sainz leading the field.
Final Runs
In the final 20 minutes, McLaren strengthened their case as Piastri climbed to P3, only 0.181s behind Norris. With most teams switching to long-run simulations on mediums and hards, the order remained the same: Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Piastri, and Hamilton. Verstappen, Albon, Hülkenberg, Tsunoda, and Russell completed a Top 10 separated by just 0.4s.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. Both Ferraris and Piastri had off-track moments during their race runs, kicking up gravel at Lesmo and Ascari. Also of note, several drivers radioed concerns about possible floor damage from Monza’s updated curbing throughout the session.
FP2 Takeaways
When the checkered flag waved, Norris held P1 with a 1:19.878, edging Leclerc by 0.083s and Sainz by 0.096s. With Ferrari showing good home-track pace, McLaren banishing early gremlins, and Williams sneaking into the mix, FP2 may have raised more questions than it answered. Can McLaren carry this momentum into Saturday? Will Ferrari deliver for the Tifosi? And might Williams spring a surprise at Monza? All eyes now turn to tomorrow’s FP3 and Qualifying sessions at 12:30 p.m. and 04:00 p.m. track time.
Feature Image Credit: EverythingF1
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