George Russell set the fastest time in the second free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Friday, edging out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and his own Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who currently leads the drivers' championship.
The session was held in sweltering heat, with air temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius and the asphalt reaching 56 degrees.
Russell finished the session 120 thousandths of a second ahead of Leclerc and 141 thousandths ahead of Antonelli. It was the 13th round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Russell said the team had done a lot of work that day and seemed to have decent pace, though there was still more to do.
He added that Ferrari looked very competitive and remained the team to beat at Monza, but that McLaren had been strong lately and would be in the fight, along with Red Bull.
Ferrari fans left waiting
Russell's comments cooled the enthusiasm of the local tifosi, who had already been dreaming of a Ferrari-dominated weekend after Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton topped the first free practice session earlier in the day.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza, known as the Temple of Speed, is one of the oldest circuits still in use and traditionally the fastest track on the Formula 1 calendar, drawing some of the sport's most passionate fans every year for the Italian Grand Prix.
In the second session, Hamilton posted the fifth-fastest time, behind his fellow Briton Lando Norris of McLaren, the defending champion and winner of the last two Grands Prix.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri of McLaren was sixth, ahead of Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls and Oliver Bearman of Haas. The top ten was completed by Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who had handed his car to Yuki Tsunoda for the day's first practice session.
Hadjar's injury forces a reshuffle
Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, Red Bull's sister team, for the weekend's race. Lawson has been promoted to drive a Red Bull car for the second consecutive Grand Prix after French driver Isack Hadjar suffered a wrist injury.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told the broadcaster Canal+ that Hadjar was doing well but could not race that day, so he could not say he was happy about it because he was not. Mekies said the absolute priority was Hadjar's recovery and that there was no reason to take risks, adding that the young driver had made a fantastic start to the season.
Mekies said the Madrid race was only a few days away, making it complicated for Hadjar to return for that Grand Prix. He said the team would carry out another evaluation but that thinking about Madrid was difficult for now, and that Red Bull was taking things race by race.
What comes next
Drivers will take part in a third and final free practice session on Saturday to fine-tune their final adjustments, ahead of the qualifying session that will set the starting grid for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
