George Russell bites back at Ferrari as tense Monza battle takes shape

George Russell has ended the second practice session at Monza on top of the timesheet as Mercedes returned to form in the afternoon session.

Russell's session-leading time was a 1:559, putting him marginally ahead of Charles Leclerc as Ferrari target another win on home soil.

Leclerc's effort was just over one-tenth down on Russell, and shortly after his fastest effort, the Monegasque suffered a notable spin at Turn 5 late, but managed to avoid the barriers.

The second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli was third fastest, with the championship leader entering the weekend knowing he has a grid penalty looming over his head, which will put him at the back of the grid on Sunday.

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Having ended the morning session in second place, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton could only go fifth fastest this time around.

He was slower than fourth-placed Lando Norris, who enters the weekend hoping to bag a third successive race win.

Norris will visit the stewards after the session after the stewards took issue with an impeding incident involving the reigning champion, with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll deemed the driver at fault.

Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren, while Arvid Lindblad enjoyed a strong session to get himself into seventh on the timesheet, ahead of a similarly impressive Oliver Bearman.

It was a more difficult outing for Max Verstappen, as he voiced various complaints about the balance of his car throughout the 60-minute session.

The Dutchman ended FP2 in ninth place, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who continues in his seat at Racing Bulls while Isack Hadjar recovers from injury.

Unlike FP1, there were no significant disruptions to the session.

However, Turn 1 still proved to be tricky for the competitors as they pushed into the braking zone, with several having to take to the escape road throughout the session.

On Saturday, the final practice session will take place at 12:30 PM local time, which will see the last preparations ahead of qualifying and the grand prix.