Carlos Sainz fastest in Friday practice at Italian grand prix
A positive day for Italian fans in Monza as Carlos Sainz went fastest in Friday practice for the Italian Grand Prix after an interrupted afternoon of running.
Carlos Sainz on track during Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix. (Scuderia Ferrari)
Sainz, on his 29th birthday, was the quickest of the Ferraris in both sessions and set the fastest lap of the day as the team completed qualifying simulations, ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.
“Overall it was a positive Friday for the team,” said Sainz.
“The car looks to be back on the pace this weekend and the track characteristics seem to be suiting us better.”
“It’s only Friday and tomorrow is not going to be easy, as the field is super tight with several cars within a couple of tenths. We’ll keep trying to find more performance, especially for the long runs where I think there is more room for improvement.”
‘It’s great to drive in front of this amazing crowd here in Monza! Let’s keep pushing!”
Carlos Sainz with Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur at Monza. (Scuderia Ferrari)
There was a mix of strategies as teams adapted to Pirelli’s alternative tyre allocation (ATA) for the weekend, with less sets to choose from and mandated compounds in qualifying.
Championship leader Max Verstappen was fastest in free practice one ahead of Sainz and Perez, with teams mainly running on the hard and medium tyres for installation laps and long run testing.
In the afternoon it was the Spaniard who set the fastest time for the day, with Australian Piastri fourth-fastest ahead of Verstappen in fifth.
Lance Stroll was the first retirement, his Aston Martin stopping with a fuel issue at the start of free practice two after a morning in the hands of junior driver Felipe Drugovich.
Despite setting the third-fastest lap, Segio Perez brought out the red flag when he collided with the barriers at the Curva Alboreto.
Teammate Max Verstappen struggled with traffic during his run, quipping that he had learnt nothing during the afternoon session.
Tyre manufacturer Pirelli was confident that the ATA format had delivered a new strategic challenge for teams while not changing the laps completed or competitive display during Friday practice.
“We were already seeing long runs in FP1, when the temperatures were more similar to those we can expect on Sunday for the race, when compared to what would have happened with the traditional format,” said Simone Berra, chief engineer at Pirelli.
“FP2 ran to a more conventional Friday pattern so that we were able to confirm the performance gaps between the medium and the soft which we had estimated would be around half a second.”
“From what we have seen so far, the compounds that would seem best suited for use in the race are the medium and the hard, as the soft does not deliver a big performance advantage, given the temperatures this weekend.
“The track is still evolving and, as it gradually rubbers-in, there should be less of the light tread wear we saw today, especially with the softs."
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Friday free practice tyre analysis - click to expand. (Pirelli)
