It’s Mercedes 1-2 again, as Italian GP winner Gasly clocks in at #8.
MUGELLO, Italy—September 11th—When Lewis Hamilton–the best driver on the circuit and perhaps of all time–is your teammate, it’s difficult to get paid your dues. But Valtteri Bottas is also one of the best drivers on the circuit, and he accentuated that status on Friday in Mugello in the tune-up for Sunday’s Tuscan GP.
The Finn took both morning and afternoon practice sessions setting the best time of the day of 1:16:939.
Hamilton was right behind him, 0.207 seconds adrift. Max Verstappen was third in the Red Bull, just 0.246 seconds behind the leader.
Alex Albon took his Red Bull fourth, while the two Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon were next in fifth and sixth. Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly followed in eighth in his Alpha Tauri.
With so many drivers abusing track limits last week at Monza, this circuit is more favorable to the drivers this week because of its smooth, flowing circuit. But Lando Norris had issues, losing his front wing at the exit of turn three in practice two. Norris went into the outside wall of that turn but emerged unharmed. That brought out the first of two red flag periods.
Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen brought out the second red flag when they collided coming out of turn one. The Mexican was coming out of the pits when he struck the Finn, misjudging his braking when he approached the first corner. The collision caused debris to fly all over the racing line and that prompting stoppage of the session. In the end, Perez was seventh in his Racing Point, and Raikkonen finished ninth in his Alfa Romeo
Despite being on home turf, issues continued for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel took 10th and 12th, respectively, as both drivers spun onto the track at least once. Vettel, who will be signing with Aston Martin next season, was the worse of the two, losing power in the last corner of the circuit.
The two American Haas F1 Team drivers, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, finished more than two seconds off Bottas’ pace. The result: Magnussen took 19th, while Grosjean ended up last in 20th.
