Friday at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was once again dominated by the Mercedes pair with Lewis Hamilton topping the opening practice session ahead of Jenson Button whilst championship leader Nico Rosberg topped the afternoon session. This article will analyse the times in detail, in particular the race runs completed by Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams and Force India.
Qualifying Pace
The second practice session provides us with a clearer picture of who is looking strong in terms of one lap speed. Amazingly, the fastest time of the weekend to date came in the opening session courtesy of Hamilton who set a 1:26.187 on the prime tyres which are on average six tenths slower than the option. Hamilton’s session was hampered due to a misfiring problem and only completed sixteen laps. Due to the pace shown in the opening practice session, it is clear Mercedes have yet to show their true speed and they certainly have a performance advantage over the rest.
Behind the Mercedes’, the battle is very close between the Red Bull’s, McLaren’s, Ferrari’s and Williams’. Ferrari had a strong day in terms of qualifying speed as Raikkonen was only one tenth shy of the pace-setter Rosberg. Ferrari have a history of running lighter fuel loads in practice which ultimately makes them look quicker than they actually are however it looked to be a promising day for the Italian team. Williams struggled to extract the true potential of their car as both Massa and Bottas only improved their times by four tenths when they switched to the faster, medium tyres. Below are the top ten fastest times from the second practice session, it is unknown the fuel loads used by the respective teams however it is expected Mercedes run slightly more fuel whilst Ferrari run slightly less. The third and final practice session will provide us with a clearer view of the qualifying pecking order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’26.225 | 41 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’26.286 | 0.061 | 16 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’26.331 | 0.106 | 31 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’26.565 | 0.340 | 26 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.758 | 0.533 | 34 |
| 6 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.762 | 0.537 | 34 |
| 7 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’26.762 | 0.537 | 27 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.881 | 0.656 | 44 |
| 9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.935 | 0.710 | 33 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’26.992 | 0.767 | 37 |
Race Pace
During the latter half of the second practice session. All of the teams completed their race runs. Majority of the drivers tested the speed and durability of the medium/option tyres however the Williams of Felipe Massa was the only driver who completed the most laps on the hard/prime tyre.
The race pace data (below) suggests Wiliams are very strong with Valtteri Bottas having the best average lap time but also the best lap collectively being the only man to dip into the 1:28 range. Williams were the only drivers to do back-to-back comparisons between the two tyre compounds with on average, Felipe Massa being half a second shy of Bottas which is expected due to the different tyre compounds and the grip they offer. Surprisingly, the medium tyre pace of the Mercedes was not as quick as expected however many people in the paddock expect them to show more pace come Sunday. Hamilton was only able to complete four laps due to limited running and seems the quicker of the two Mercedes based on the time he set in the opening practice session. McLaren’s race pace is not as strong as their qualifying speed as they struggled to set times within the 1:29 range on a consistent basis.
| Driver | Tyre | Average Lap Time | Best Lap Time | Stint Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nico Rosberg | Medium | 1:30.400 | 1:29.356 | 17 laps |
| Sebastian Vettel | Medium | 1:29.877 | 1:29.523 | 13 laps |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Medium | 1:30.366 | 1:29.603 | 15 laps |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Medium | 1:29.870 | 1:29.337 | 16 laps |
| Fernando Alonso | Medium | 1:29.628 | 1:29.559 | 2 laps |
| Jenson Button | Medium | 1:30.544 | 1:30.168 | 9 laps |
| Kevin Magnussen | Medium | 1:30.381 | 1:30.188 | 12 laps |
| Sergio Perez | Medium | 1:30.060 | 1:29.586 | 12 laps |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Medium | 1:30.275 | 1:30.473 | 10 laps |
| Lewis Hamilton | Medium | 1:29.826 | 1:29.309 | 4 laps |
| Valtteri Bottas | Medium | 1:29.515 | 1:28.938 | 18 laps |
| Felipe Massa | Hard | 1:30.064 | 1:29.365 | 17 laps |
Note: All calculations are my own. Averages have been calculated using the official FIA documentation released after the practice session earlier today. The stint length is the number of laps completed on high fuel rather than a collective total for the session as a whole. Other drivers such as Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button completed several laps on the prime tyres also.
To conclude, in both qualifying and the race Mercedes have a clear advantage over the rest however Williams are a serious threat. They are the only team to have a significant amount of data on both tyre compounds. Red Bull look just behind Williams with Ferrari, McLaren and Sergio Perez just behind. A strong qualifying will be crucial as ultimately there is not much time between each of the teams.
