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Italian GP Practice Two: Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari ahead of Mercedes

Ferrari ahead of Mercedes as Monza dries up with Vettel leading Raikkonen and Hamilton; Ericsson fine after spectacular crash

Sebastian Vettel surged to the fastest time of Friday at the Italian GP, but then spun, as Ferrari outpaced Mercedes on a dramatic opening day at Monza.

After the session started with a 200mph crash for Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, which the Swede emerged unscathed from, Vettel was the driver who provided the pace on the timesheet by leading a Ferrari one-two at the team's home track.

Mercedes were third and fourth, with lead runner Lewis Hamilton finishing 0.287s adrift of Vettel's pace-setting 1:21.105 time.

"I can't get over how quick this Ferrari is and how light it is on the tyres," said an impressed Paul di Resta from the Sky F1 commentary box.

Vettel was going faster and faster on the supersoft tyres during the qualifying simulations, but eventually pushed too hard at the Parabolica and spun backwards through the gravel.

His Ferrari rear wing sustained minor damage against the barriers and cost Vettel some running time in the later high-fuel race simulations.

"I know what doesn't work, so that's good to know!" said Vettel after the session. "At least I got out of the sandpit, which was difficult as a child - but nowadays I don't want to spend much time there."

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But the early indications from the timesheet appear to confirm pre-weekend expectations that Ferrari, fresh from a commanding victory at Spa last Sunday, are favourites for pole and victory at F1's fastest circuit ahead of Mercedes.

The dry running of P2 also underlined Red Bull's fears, with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo fifth and sixth respectively but one second off Vettel's pace.

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"This is definitely the worst track for us so I didn't expect miracles. Certainly in qualifying trim we are slow," said Verstappen.

The Dutchman finished a tenth ahead of Ricciardo despite his team-mate running the new 'C-spec' engine from Renault. Ricciardo is taking engine penalties as a result and will start Sunday's race from the back row.

Red Bull will now decide whether Verstappen also takes the upgrade for the weekend's race, although the 20-year-old would still remain within his penalty-free engine allocation for the season.

Meanwhile, having proved fastest in the wet running of the morning, Force India's momentum since the team's summer-break takeover continued apace as their cars lapped at the head of the midfield pack.

Charles Leclerc was ninth in the sole-remaining Sauber, despite missing the early stages of the session after his team-mate's crash as the team inspected his car's DRS wing.

It appears a DRS failure, when the rear-wing flap failed to close as usual under braking, pitched Ericsson into his frightening accident when the Sauber smashed into the barriers and then barrel rolled down the side of the track.

Ericsson was able to walk away from the shunt and doctors in the medical centre gave the Swede the all-clear.

With the Sauber driver not completing a timed lap, struggling McLaren finished with the slowest times ahead of what looks set to be another trying weekend for Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Italian GP Practice Two Timesheet

Driver Team Time
1) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:21.105
2) Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.270
3) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.287
4) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.698
5) Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.049
6) Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull +1.191
7) Esteban Ocon Force India +1.825
8) Sergio Perez Force India +1.837
9) Charles Leclerc Sauber +1.860
10) Nico Hulkenberg Renault +1.958
11) Romain Grosjean Haas +1.972
12) Carlos Sainz Renault +2.088
13) Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.128
14) Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso +2.297
15) Sergey Sirotkin Williams +2.409
16) Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso +2.426
17) Lance Stroll Williams +2.461
18) Fernando Alonso McLaren +2.636
19) Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +2.979
20) Marcus Ericsson Sauber No time set

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