Lewis Hamilton didn't expect to be so close to Ferrari around Monza
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton managed to split the two Ferrari cars during the second practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend. The five-time F1 world champion was less than a tenth away from leader Charles Leclerc.
Prior to the weekend, Mercedes and Toto Wolff explained how difficult they expected the weekend to be given the track characteristics suit the Ferrari car. Last weekend, the Italian team were fast on single-lap pace. Hamilton admits he's surprised to be less than a tenth behind.
"As expected, the Ferraris are quite quick in a straight line, but our race pace felt strong and we seem to be a little closer on single-lap pace than we were last week in Spa, so it looks like we can be in the fight," Hamilton said.
"We'll go through the data with a fine comb tonight, trying to see where I can improve as a driver and also what we can tweak with the set-up, to make sure we can squeeze everything out of the car. It's going to be a really hard race on Sunday, but we seem to be close to the Ferraris which is a good start to the weekend."
Hamilton's fastest lap occurred when he picked up a tow behind Valtteri Bottas. Something the Mercedes looked keen to practice ahead of qualifying.