McLaren edge out Ferrari, but the Scuderia boasts race win vibes on home soil

Lando Norris was the fastest today on one-lap pace at Monza, but what about the long runs? With Ferrari's dominant outing in FP1, can the Scuderia put the pressure on McLaren over a full race distance as well?

As expected, McLaren once again asserted themselves at Monza on Friday, with Lando Norris reclaiming the spotlight in FP2 after Ferrari’s morning one-two.

Once all the qualifying simulations were completed—which saw Charles Leclerc finish just 0.083s behind the Briton—teams spent the final twenty minutes focusing on race pace in preparation for Sunday.

Norris fastest even in race pace at Monza

The British driver also appeared the most competitive in the long runs during FP2, averaging 1:23.697 over an 11-lap stint on medium tires. Teammate Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, was 0.305 seconds slower on average, also on mediums but completing two laps less.

Leclerc on the hunt of Norris

After posting a gap of less than a tenth in the qualifying simulations, the Monegasque driver also looked competitive in the long runs, recording Friday’s second-best long-run average of 1:23.773—just 0.076 seconds slower than Norris. However, he completed only four laps, all on soft tires.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, ran a simulation more comparable to Piastri’s, finishing with an average of 1:24.167—0.471 seconds slower than Norris—although he completed seven laps on hard tires, unlike his teammate who ran on softs.

What about Red Bull?

The four-time world champion also stood out in race pace, posting the third-best long-run simulation of the day. Specifically, Verstappen completed 10 laps on medium tires, averaging 1:23.922—0.225 seconds slower than Norris.

Yuki Tsunoda, on the same tire, was considerably slower, finishing 1.075 seconds off the Briton over seven laps.

Mercedes still a question mark

While Kimi Antonelli was unable to run any simulations due to his spin in the opening moments, George Russell posted a pace very similar to Hamilton and Piastri, averaging 1:24.119 over six laps on hard tires.

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