Less than four tenths of a second covered the top 10 in Friday practice for the Italian Grand Prix.
But the teams are not only close – they’re fast. Formula 1’s all-time record for fastest lap of any circuit looks set to fall.
Teams’ 2024 performance in context
Last year McLaren was the team to beat and Mercedes got closest to them in qualifying. With Ferrari third, Red Bull were bumped back to fourth-fastest team.
The quartet enjoyed a significant gap back to the rest of the midfield, led by Williams, in one of their most competitive showings of the year.
Teams’ progress vs 2024
Although Williams’ car is more of an all-rounder than its predecessor, it remains particularly strong on high-speed tracks. Alexander Albon qualified fifth at Spa and they are well-placed to pull off a similar result tomorrow.
But unlike Williams, the four front-running teams appear to have much more pace in hand compared to last year. Mercedes in particular have often made big gains from Friday to Saturday this year.
Max Verstappen also admitted Red Bull appear to be in better shape at Monza than when they struggled last year. Yuki Tsunoda looked much more comfortable in the car on Friday and got much closer to his team mate than usual.
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Overall lap times
| P. | # | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’21.021 | 1’19.878 | 56 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’20.286 | 1’19.961 | 0.083 | 53 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | 1’20.650 | 1’19.974 | 0.096 | 55 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’20.059 | 0.181 | 29 | |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1’20.117 | 1’20.070 | 0.192 | 46 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’20.692 | 1’20.077 | 0.199 | 49 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’21.073 | 1’20.179 | 0.301 | 53 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’21.179 | 1’20.241 | 0.363 | 53 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’21.292 | 1’20.269 | 0.391 | 52 |
| 10 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’21.110 | 1’20.276 | 0.398 | 49 |
| 11 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’21.158 | 1’20.383 | 0.505 | 49 |
| 12 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’21.172 | 1’20.475 | 0.597 | 49 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’21.295 | 1’20.528 | 0.650 | 54 |
| 14 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1’22.058 | 1’20.607 | 0.729 | 52 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’21.114 | 1’20.645 | 0.767 | 46 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 1’21.642 | 1’20.654 | 0.776 | 51 |
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’21.201 | 1’20.811 | 0.933 | 52 |
| 18 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1’20.940 | 1’21.367 | 1.062 | 29 |
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’21.653 | 1’21.102 | 1.224 | 56 |
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | 1’21.564 | 1.686 | 30 | |
| 21 | 89 | Alexander Dunne | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’21.606 | 1.728 | 26 | |
| 22 | 61 | Paul Aron | Alpine-Renault | 1’22.153 | 2.275 | 23 |
Last year’s pole position time was 1.4 seconds quicker than the best lap time seen the day before. Today Lando Norris lapped within a second of the all-time course record for Monza, indicating it could fall tomorrow.
That lap – Hamilton’s 1’18.887 from 2020 – is the fastest ever seen in F1 at any track, with an average speed of 264.362kph. Friday’s running indicated it’s not just McLaren that has a chance to break it.
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