Scuderia Ferrari HP got through its Friday free practice programme for the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit without encountering any problems. As from the first hour, the SF-24s were both fitted with the update package introduced this weekend, so that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would have plenty of time to familiarise themselves with the car in this new configuration, as well as learning about the new track surface and modified kerbs at some of the most iconic corners, including the Ascari chicane. Today’s times point to tomorrow’s qualifying being as closely contested as usual, if not more so, with just thousandths of a second making the difference between one grid position and another. Looking ahead to the race, all cars experienced tyre graining on the long runs this afternoon, a phenomenon which should gradually improve as the track rubbers in.
FP1. Carlos and Charles got proceedings underway on the Medium tyre, staying with them after the pause when the session was red flagged following Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s accident at Parabolica. In the middle of the session, the SF-24s ran Soft tyres with which Charles set the second fastest time in 1’21”904, while Carlos stopped the clocks in 1’22”126. Towards the end, both drivers ran a heavier fuel load to run in race trim on the Medium tyres used at the start. Charles did 23 laps, Carlos 24, for a team total of 47.
FP2. Both drivers again started off on the Medium tyres, then they switched to the Softs, Sainz setting his best time of 1’20”841 good enough for third place just 103 thousandths off the quickest time, while Leclerc did a 1’20”892. Shortly after that, the session was red flagged when Kevin Magnussen went off the track at the second Lesmo. At the restart, both Ferraris ran the Mediums they had used at the start of the session to evaluate the car with a full fuel load. Leclerc drove a total of 26 laps while Sainz, who reverted to the Softs he had used earlier, right at the end, did 27 for a total of 53 laps.
Saturday. Tomorrow’s final free practice session will be used to fine tune the cars for the all-important qualifying, as well as assessing race pace again. Practice starts at 12.30 CEST with qualifying at 17.00.