On this weekend, it looks like the big question isn’t who can catch Mercedes, but who will finish behind Mercedes.
MONZA, Italy—September 4th—As it has been all season, the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas dominated Friday practice for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton set the fastest time of the day, a 1:20:192.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was the third quickest–in the position that Daniel Ricciardo would have occupied. But the Australian went far too wide at the Parabolica and, with that, exceeded track limits.
Taking fourth–and now in a regular upfront position–is Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, who was dropped by the senior Red Bull team last season, but is now showing his F1 presence. For Red Bull, Max Verstappen was fifth, but he caused a red flag to be issued in the early part of the morning session. The Dutchman lost control of the rear of his car in the Ascari chicane, crashed into the barriers, and broke his front wing. Verstappen rolled back into the pits but then needed some checks and repairs before continuing.
Carlos Sainz Jr. put the second McLaren into sixth place with Dani Kvyat continuing Alpha Tauri’s success by finishing seventh. Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez were also in the top ten by finishing their Racing Point entries in eighth and tenth, respectively.
No fans were in the stands on Friday and that might have been a good thing–at least as far as the Tifosi are concerned. They would have been disappointed in Ferrari’s performance.
On this weekend, it looks like the big question isn’t who can catch Mercedes, but who will finish behind Mercedes. Red Bull is the top contender, but it could be McLaren, Racing Point, or even Renault. However the situation may turn out, the odds are that the Italian GP will offer something good to see.
