
Rain stayed away from the 2024 Italian Grand Prix Friday’s practice and also brought scorching heat where maximum temperature reached up to 34 degrees Celcius which did influence the race strategies. Red Bull could not find itself atop the time sheets due to the incident where the red flag stopped the practice, but considering their long runs, Verstappen’s team seems to be in a better shape than in Zandvoort.
Mercedes had an up and down day, with almost every session being affected by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s crash in FP1, which put a dent in George Russell. During the second practice session FP2 the team suffered from extreme heat in the seat which became an additional problem.
Encouraging pace was evident from Ferrari and McLaren especially with Charles Leclerc finishing just behind Verstappen in FP1 which must have been a palatable sight to the home fans. The new kerbs to the Ascari chicane changed the line by a very little but kept the high speed fun of Monza.
Bravo echoes from Renault engine staff in the grandstands promoted additional tension as the French team protested the current state of affairs by clapping for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly’s Alpines on race track.
Looking at the analysing the long run data we can determine that Red Bull will be force to reckon within qualification runs as we have seen Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes as well. A glimpse at the 2024 Italian GP as fans set to be treated to a world-class event.