The weather was story on Friday at Monza. Rain was light in the morning but came down harder in the afternoon.
MONZA, Italy—September 6th—Charles Leclerc proved in Friday practice that his win a week ago at Spa was no fluke. The Monegasque set the fastest time of 1:20:978 in the afternoon at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Practice sessions were held in mixed conditions that afflicted the track all day.
Wet conditions at Monza (photo, Autosport)
Lewis Hamilton took advantage of a risk to use soft tires to record a 1:21:046, which gave the Briton the second-best time behind Leclerc. Sebastian Vettel was third fastest. But because of damp conditions and different periods that he and the rest of the grid were coming out onto the track, it was difficult to see how they would compare with one another.
Valtteri Bottas took fourth in his Mercedes, while Red Bull was in the thick of the action, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively– even though both Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid with new Honda engines.
Pierre Gasly proved that he could still be the best of the rest–even after being demoted by the senior Red Bull team. The Frenchman placed seventh in his Toro Rosso entry. For the rest of the top ten, American Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean, who still has a chance for his contract to be renewed, finished an impressive eighth. Daniel Ricciardo stayed steady by taking ninth in his Renault. Tenth went to the second Toro Rosso of Dani Kvyat.
Leclerc fastest at Monza (photo, Shropshire Star)
The rain was light in the morning, but after only half an hour of practice in the afternoon, the rain came down harder. The impact was light because most of the grid had already set decent times with enough of a dry track to convince themselves how their setups will go.
But when the rain increased, there was a short delay with a brief red flag. That resulted in a lull in the action, giving track marshals a chance to clean up loose gravel that the second Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen, dispersed when the Dane went wide at the second chicane. Magnussen ended up finishing 13th.
The rest of the week looks bleak, though. Saturday’s qualifying day is predicted to be cloudy, and more rain is a possibility for Sunday’s race day.
