P14 in Monza FP2 for Max

Published on 04 September 2015 by Stefan Meens

After clocking the fourteenth quickest time in FP1, Max Verstappen also finished in P14 during the second free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix. His fastest lap of the Monza circuit (1:26.454) put him two seconds off Lewis Hamilton’s pace, who once again proofed the faster of the two Mercedes with Nico Rosberg in second. Sebastian Vettel remained best of the rest in third. The German and his team mate Kimi Raikkonen were the only two cars without Mercedes power in the top ten.

With Monza being a typical powertrack, Scuderia Toro Rosso could potentially struggle this weekend, a sentiment Max echoed to Verstappen.nl: “As expected, it’s a difficult track for us. We really lack a lot of top speed on the straights. However, we keep trying to adapt our car set-up to the conditions. We’ll do our best and make the most of the situation but we definitely lack the straight line speed.”

At the start of FP2, Max heads out on a set of mediums, clocking a 1:27.6 as his fastest lap before switching to the soft Pirellis. His team mate Carlos Sainz is the first to set a time on the faster of the two compounds, lapping the Monza circuit a second faster than on the medium tyre. Max follows the Spaniard’s example and improves his lap time significantly (1:26.454).

Despite a constant improvement in pace, Max is convinced he could have gone quicker. “I’m losing a lot of speed in the final turn and before the finish line”, refers Max to issues with the hybrid system. A couple of laps later, Max goes off track at the turn-in of the Variante Ascari. The rear of the STR10 steps out and Max slides into the gravel. Fortunately, the Dutchman manages to keep the car out of the barriers and is able to resume his session.

After a practice start, Max heads out for a third time. He continues his long run on the softer tyre, which means he does not improve on his lap time. Near the end of his run, which lasts 21 laps, the youngster tells the team his rear tyres are finished before adding his seat feels loose. Max is urged to return to the pits and after 38 laps his FP2 comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel is the only driver able to get close the Mercedes. On the softer tyre, the German is only 0.003s shy of Hamilton’s fastest effort on the medium Pirellis. However, the Mercs quickly restore order when they bolt on the quicker rubber. Hamilton ends the session in first, followed by Rosberg.

After the McLaren-Hondas receiving grid penalties in FP1, Red Bull joins Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso with Daniil Kvyat receiving a 15-place penalty and Daniel Ricciardo a 25-place grid drop. Fellow Renault-powered colleague Sainz will lose ten places after qualifying.

Monza - Italian Grand Prix – Friday 4 October

 RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 2
 P No Driver             Team          Time       Gap     Laps 
 1 44 Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes      1:24.279             27 
 2  6 Nico Rosberg       Mercedes      1:24.300   +0.021s   35 
 3  5 Sebastian Vettel   Ferrari       1:25.038   +0.759s   36 
 4 11 Sergio Perez       Force India   1:25.278   +0.999s   34 
 5 27 Nico Hulkenberg    Force India   1:25.325   +1.046s   43 
 6  7 Kimi Räikkönen     Ferrari       1:25.380   +1.101s   39 
 7  8 Romain Grosjean    Lotus         1:25.497   +1.218s   41 
 8 13 Pastor Maldonado   Lotus         1:25.513   +1.234s   41 
 9 77 Valtteri Bottas    Williams      1:25.647   +1.368s   34 
10 19 Felipe Massa       Williams      1:25.891   +1.612s   31 
11 12 Felipe Nasr        Sauber        1:26.114   +1.835s   30 
12  9 Marcus Ericsson    Sauber        1:26.133   +1.854s   32 
13  3 Daniel Ricciardo   Red Bull      1:26.222   +1.943s   27 
14 33 Max Verstappen     Toro Rosso    1:26.454   +2.175s   38 
15 55 Carlos Sainz       Toro Rosso    1:26.641   +2.362s   50 
16 14 Fernando Alonso    McLaren       1:26.966   +2.687s   31 
17 28 Will Stevens       Marussia      1:28.201   +3.922s   29 
18 98 Roberto Merhi      Marussia      1:28.439   +4.160s   27 
19 22 Jenson Button      McLaren       1:28.471   +4.192s    3 
20 26 Daniil Kvyat       Red Bull      1:28.723   +4.444s   28 

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