Russell Sets the Pace in Monza FP2 as Ferrari and Antonelli Stay Close

George Russell topped the second practice session for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix with a 1:22.559, edging Charles Leclerc by 0.120 seconds as Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren remained tightly matched. Kimi Antonelli finished third, while Gabriel Bortoleto slipped to 15th after failing to complete a clean soft tyre lap.

By Open Chronicle News Desk with Agencies

George Russell ended Friday on top at Monza after setting the fastest time in the second free practice session for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver produced a 1:22.559 to lead Charles Leclerc by 0.120 seconds, with Kimi Antonelli only 0.141 seconds away in third.

Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton placed the second Ferrari fifth.

Oscar Piastri followed in sixth, leaving Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren occupying six of the first six positions except for one gap created by the consistently impressive Arvid Lindblad in seventh.

The margins at the front suggested an extremely close competitive picture, even if Friday practice times at Monza remain heavily influenced by fuel loads, engine modes and tow effects.

Russell Responds After Ferrari’s Strong FP1

Ferrari had controlled the opening session earlier in the day, with Leclerc leading Hamilton in a one two.

FP2 shifted the balance towards Mercedes.

Russell immediately looked competitive and gradually lowered his times as the session progressed, eventually becoming the only driver to break below 1:22.6.

His final benchmark of 1:22.559 was enough to keep Leclerc behind despite another strong Ferrari showing.

Antonelli completed a highly productive session for Mercedes by finishing third.

The Italian had already looked strong on hard tyres early in the session and remained competitive when the field moved onto softs.

For a team heading into a home race with title ambitions and another major championship weekend ahead, Mercedes finished Friday with both drivers firmly in contention.

Four Regular Drivers Return

FP2 also marked the return of several race drivers who had sat out the opening session to fulfil rookie running obligations.

Max Verstappen returned to the Red Bull.

Sergio Pérez was back in the Cadillac.

Alexander Albon reclaimed his Williams.

Pierre Gasly returned to Alpine.

Their presence restored the full race weekend line up and gave teams their first proper chance to compare representative long run and qualifying style programmes across both cars.

Antonelli Leads Early Running

The opening phase featured a mix of hard and medium tyres.

Lance Stroll was the main outlier, using softs immediately.

Antonelli emerged as an early reference.

Around ten minutes into the session, the Mercedes driver led on hard tyres with a 1:23.417.

Russell, Leclerc, Lindblad and Hamilton filled out the top five at that stage.

That early pace from Antonelli was particularly notable because it came on the harder compound.

As the track evolved and more drivers completed representative runs, Russell moved ahead with a 1:23.202.

Bortoleto was seventh at that point and Audi appeared competitive enough to remain in the midfield fight.

Leclerc and Russell Trade the Top Spot

Once the majority of teams switched to soft tyres, the session moved into its most representative qualifying simulation phase.

Leclerc jumped to the front with a 1:22.679.

Russell was only 0.007 seconds behind.

Antonelli, Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda followed in the next positions.

The fight at the front was therefore extremely tight.

Russell then found the lap that decided the session.

His 1:22.559 moved Mercedes clear by just over a tenth.

Leclerc could not respond.

Antonelli remained close.

McLaren also showed enough pace to stay within range.

Bortoleto Loses His Soft Tyre Opportunity

Bortoleto’s session became more difficult once the qualifying simulations began.

The Brazilian had looked reasonably competitive early on but made a mistake during his first fast lap on soft tyres.

He ran off the circuit and had to abort the attempt.

Audi instructed him to complete two slow laps before preparing another push lap.

By that stage, however, the tyre window and track conditions were no longer as favourable.

Bortoleto was unable to significantly improve his position and eventually finished 15th with a 1:23.776.

The result represented a sharp contrast with FP1, where he had finished eighth.

It did not necessarily indicate a collapse in Audi performance.

The missed soft tyre lap clearly distorted the final classification.

Hülkenberg ended FP2 in 13th with a 1:23.732, only 0.044 seconds ahead of Bortoleto.

Audi therefore remained closely matched internally, even if neither car featured inside the top ten.

Verstappen Unhappy With the Red Bull

Max Verstappen endured another difficult session.

The Dutchman finished only ninth with a 1:23.377.

More concerning than the position itself were his repeated complaints over the radio.

Verstappen reported that the RB22 was bouncing heavily, particularly at the front when attacking the kerbs.

That is a significant issue at Monza.

The circuit requires drivers to ride kerbs aggressively through the chicanes while maintaining confidence under braking.

A car that becomes unstable over those kerbs can lose considerable time and compromise both qualifying performance and tyre management.

Red Bull will therefore have significant setup work ahead of FP3.

Norris Avoids Stroll Incident

One of the more uncomfortable moments of the session involved Norris and Stroll.

Stroll was leaving the pit lane while Norris approached at speed.

The McLaren driver had to move onto the grass to avoid a collision.

Norris immediately described the situation as dangerous over the radio.

No major accident followed, but the incident highlighted how difficult traffic management can become at Monza, where speed differentials are especially large.

McLaren Remains in the Fight

Norris finished fourth with a 1:22.943.

Piastri followed in sixth on 1:23.028.

McLaren did not match Russell’s ultimate pace, but the two cars remained close enough to Mercedes and Ferrari to suggest the team is still firmly part of the front running group.

The long run picture is likely to matter more.

Friday suggested that Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren remain separated by relatively small margins over sustained runs.

That makes Saturday setup work especially important.

Lindblad Impresses Again

Arvid Lindblad continued another strong weekend.

The Racing Bulls driver finished seventh with a 1:23.349.

He had already shown excellent pace in recent races and once again placed himself ahead of several drivers in traditionally faster machinery.

Oliver Bearman was eighth for Haas with a 1:23.370.

Verstappen and Tsunoda completed the top ten.

Ferrari Still Looks Strong

Although Leclerc did not repeat his FP1 session win, Ferrari remained extremely competitive.

Leclerc was second.

Hamilton was fifth.

More importantly, Ferrari remained close across both qualifying style and race simulation work.

For a team racing at Monza in front of the Tifosi, Friday represented a highly encouraging opening day.

The key question now is whether Ferrari can maintain that pace when fuel loads drop further in qualifying.

Russell Reports Front Suspension Vibration

Russell’s session ended with one technical note for Mercedes.

After finishing fastest, the British driver told the team to keep an eye on the front suspension because he had noticed a vibration.

There was no immediate suggestion of a major failure.

Still, any vibration issue at Monza will receive close attention because of the enormous braking loads and kerb strikes generated around the circuit.

Mercedes will almost certainly inspect the car carefully before FP3.

Gasly Has a Late Moment

Gasly also experienced a scare near the end of the session.

The Alpine driver ran off the circuit but avoided a major accident.

He finished 14th with a 1:23.773.

Colapinto was 11th in the other Alpine.

The team therefore remained close to Audi and Red Bull’s lower midfield group.

FP2 Classification, 2026 Italian Grand Prix

What Friday Tells Us

Two sessions, two different teams on top.

Ferrari controlled FP1.

Mercedes answered in FP2.

That is perhaps the clearest indication of the competitive picture at Monza.

Russell has outright pace.

Leclerc remains very close.

Antonelli continues to look strong.

McLaren is within striking distance.

Ferrari still appears competitive enough to fight at the front.

Red Bull has work to do.

Audi’s true position remains slightly harder to judge after Bortoleto’s compromised soft tyre run.

The biggest conclusion is that no team has created a clear advantage.

The top six were separated by less than half a second.

At Monza, where slipstreaming and energy deployment can dramatically influence qualifying, that margin can disappear very quickly.

Saturday’s final practice will therefore be crucial.

Teams will focus on refining low downforce balance, managing kerb behaviour and preparing for a qualifying session where track position and towing strategy could prove almost as important as pure car speed.

For now, Mercedes has the final word on Friday.

George Russell ends the day fastest at the Temple of Speed.