Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was the fastest this Saturday in the second freestyle at the Monza circuit and stopped the clock in 1: 23: 246, which confirmed the superiority seen this weekend by his team so makes the Red Bull of the Dutchman Max Verstappen, in a session marked by a strong accident, without consequences, of the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
Under the sun and the 27 degrees of the “temple of speed” of Monza, a temperature unusual in the Italian Grand Prix at this time of September, Hamilton achieved the best time, with 222 thousandths of an advantage about his teammate, the Finn Valtteri Bottas.
The session was interrupted by twelve minutes due to a serious accident suffered, at the exit of the Ascari Variant, by Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, who had been the best Ferrari this Friday, finishing seventh in the standings, lost control of his car and crashed at more than 200 kilometers per hour of speed against the protective barriers.
“Massive crash,” Sainz told his team on the radio. He stayed in the car for a few seconds to rest after the accident and then went out to check the condition of his car, which was noticeably damaged in the front.
The Spaniard received a severe blow to the neck, but said he feels “good.” He will soon undergo new medical checks to make sure there are no problematic injuries preventing him from competing.
For Ferrari it was a negative morning, as Monegasque Charles Leclerc also had to interrupt the pound session before closing due to a problem in his car., That the mechanics of the Maranello Squad will have to study in the next few hours.
Until then, Mercedes had taken advantage of the pounds to roll with red rubber and rehearse the pace for this Sunday’s race, with a significant load of gasoline. After Sainz’s accident, Hamilton switched to the hard tire.
On the other hand, in Red Bull, Verstappen and the Mexican Sergio Pérez rehearsed the classification in the sprint this Saturday (16.30 CEST), with about 50 kilograms of gasoline less than Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Verstappen, with red rubber, sealed the third time, 416 thousandths of a second from Hamilton. “Czech” Pérez reached the fourth time, 671 thousandths of a second from the British.
In Alpine, Spaniard Fernando Alonso had the eighth time, 1: 293 from Hamilton, while his French teammate Esteban Ocon was fifth, 1: 017 from the best this Saturday.
The second round of freestyle was held hours before the start of the sprint classification (16.30 CET / 14.30 GMT), which in this Grand Prix will certify the pole for this Sunday’s race, in which Bottas will start first .
Lewis Hamilton will start in second place, ahead of Verstappen, the leader of the World Championship with a three-point advantage over the British driver himself, a seven-time world champion.
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= CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FREE:
.1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR / Mercedes): 1: 20.926
.2. Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Mercedes): 1: 23: 468
.3. Max Verstappen (HOL / Red Bull): 1:23:66
.4. Sergio Pérez (MEX / Red Bull): 1: 23: 917
.5. Esteban Ocón (FRA / Alpine): 1: 24.263
.6. Robert Kubica (POL / Alfa Romeo): 1:24:80
.7. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA / Alfa Romeo): 1: 24.502
.8. Fernando Alonso (ESP / Alpine): 1: 24.539
.9. Pierre Gasly (FRA / Alphatauri): 1: 24.654
10. Lando Norris (GBR / McLaren): 1:24: 665
11. Charles Leclerc (MON / Ferrari): 1: 24.770
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS / McLaren): 1: 24,774
13. Nicholas Latifi (CAN / Williams): 1: 24.805
14. George Russell (GBR / Williams): 1: 25.083
15. Yuki Tsunoda (JAP / Alphatauri): 1: 25.422
16. Nikita Mazepin (RUA / Haas): 1: 25.729
17. Lance Stroll (CAN / Aston Martin): 1: 25.763
18. Sebastian Vettel (ALE / Aston Martin): 1: 25.935
19. Mick Schumacher (ALE / Haas): 1: 26.012
20. Carlos Sainz (ESP / Ferrari): 1: 26.124