Russell steals the spotlight from Ferrari in scorching Monza practice

George Russell took the fastest lap of Friday’s practice at Monza, briefly stealing the spotlight from Ferrari at its home Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver completed the 5.793-kilometer circuit in 1 minute, 22.559 seconds during the second session.

Charles Leclerc, fastest in the morning for Ferrari, finished 0.120 seconds behind Russell. Russell’s Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was third, 0.141 seconds back, but faces a severe penalty for Sunday’s race after exceeding the permitted limit for power-unit changes. He will start from the back of the grid.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, the defending champion who has won the last two races, set the fourth-fastest time. Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth. Both remain 59 points behind Antonelli, the youngest championship leader in Formula One history.

Carlos Sainz was 17th for Williams and Fernando Alonso 19th for Aston Martin, with both Spaniards facing limited prospects for success over the weekend, according to the report. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto was 11th, while Sergio Pérez of Cadillac was 20th.

Ferrari had dominated the first session in the extreme heat, with Leclerc posting a 1:23.008 on medium tires. The team is also paying tribute at Monza to Michael Schumacher, marking the 30th anniversary of the German seven-time champion’s debut with Ferrari. Alonso is racing with a helmet honoring his former manager, Spanish driver Adrián Campos, who died five years ago.