Norris edges Leclerc in tight Italian GP FP2

The McLaren driver set a 1m19.878s to finish just 0.004s ahead of Leclerc, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz a further 0.005s back. The competitiveness extended throughout the field, with the top 10 cars covered by less than half a second.

Oscar Piastri, back in the car after sitting out FP1 for rookie Alex Dunne, finished fourth overall, 0.181s behind Norris and narrowly ahead of FP1 pace-setter Lewis Hamilton.

Piastri, however, is facing a stewards’ investigation for potentially leaving his pit box before being cleared to rejoin the session following a red flag caused by Kimi Antonelli beached in his Mercedes exiting the second Lesmo.

Both McLaren drivers also reported unusual mirror issues early in the hour, with Piastri flagging a cracked right-hand mirror before Norris later lost his entirely.

Running under hot skies, the session was interrupted 10 minutes in by Antonelli’s spin, ending his FP2 and pausing the session for around five minutes.

It proved the only stoppage of the session, though several drivers again flirted with Monza’s gravel traps.

Norris and Piastri were among those to run wide in the final stages, with Piastri brushing the gravel at Ascari during his final qualifying simulation.

Both Ferraris also had off-track moments at the same chicane, with Leclerc fully kicking up the stones as he pushed the limits.

Max Verstappen ended the session in sixth for Red Bull, followed by the second Williams of Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber, who bounced back strongly after missing the top 10 in FP1.

Yuki Tsunoda spent much of the session ahead of his teammate Verstappen but ultimately slipped to ninth, just two tenths down on the Dutchman, while George Russell rounded out the top 10 after returning to action following his FP1 hydraulics issue.

Behind them, the midfield remained incredibly tight.

Positions 11th through 15th were split by just two tenths of a second, while 17 drivers finished within a second of Norris’s benchmark.

Only Pierre Gasly in 18th, Antonelli in 19th and Franco Colapinto in 20th fell outside that margin, with Antonelli’s early exit meaning his time was not representative of Mercedes’ potential pace.

With more sunny skies forecast for Saturday, attention now shifts to what looks set to be a close fight at the front, with McLaren, Ferrari and Williams all firmly in the mix ahead of FP3 and qualifying.

Track action resumes at Monza at 12:30pm local time (8:30pm AEST).