5 Key Takeaways From Friday Practice At The Italian Grand Prix

Now facing a 34-point deficit, it feels like every lap counts for Norris as he tries to build momentum to pull back the gap between himself and a maiden drivers' title, so ending Friday on top will provide optimism going into the weekend.

Far from maximizing his time on track, he was one of a number of drivers to run off-track [more on that later] and was less than a tenth faster than Charles Leclerc. But with Piastri sitting and watching FP1 as Alex Dunne completed an obligatory rookie session, Norris at least has a track time advantage over his title rival.

Now he just needs to carry that form into Saturday and Sunday.

Ferrari on the right track?

A miserable Dutch Grand Prix was swiftly forgotten as Lewis Hamilton topped his first session at Monza in Ferrari colours with Leclerc making it a one-two.

While eyebrows immediately raised as to whether that was purely a glory run to give the passionate Tifosi something to shout about, FP2's performance, with Hamilton within two-tenths off Norris in the second session, suggested otherwise.

But while all of that is encouraging on paper, team radio comments from Leclerc suggest that the car is difficult to drive and that is backed up by the Monegasque's off at Ascari during FP2. Hamilton also hit the gravel at the second Lesmo moments later.

The Scuderia is definitely more competitive than a week ago, and now it needs to figure out how to limit the damage of Hamilton's five-place grid penalty.

Antonelli's struggles continue

Kimi Antonelli would have been hoping that a return to his homeland would have provoked a change in fortunes as he aims to put recent struggles behind.

Troubles continued as he beached his car in Dutch GP practice before crashing into Leclerc on race day, but the Mercedes rookie impressed in FP1 at Monza, finishing fifth fastest.

But there was another apology to follow to his team in the garage as he spun at the second Lesmo early in the second hour-long session, beaching himself in the gravel and taking no further part.

That means that Antonelli has missed out on crucial qualifying data ahead of Saturday's crucial hour to set the grand prix grid and it is another hit to what is already fragile confidence. Mercedes will of course put an arm around its protege, but the pressure is starting to mount.

Drivers face punishing weekend at the beach

One phrase was uttered more than any other over team radio across the opening two practice sessions: "Check the floor."

While track limits are often a talking point at the more sanitized tracks on F1's calendar, gravel awaits at almost every turn at Monza.

Critical areas at the circuit come at the della Roggia chicane, the two Lesmos and Ascari, all of which saw plenty of action on Friday. Norris made his McLaren look more like a rally car at the Roggia, while he also found the gravel at the Lesmos. Antonelli came a cropper at that corner, as did Bortoleto, who went all four wheels off-road. The red flag in FP1 was for Hadjar dragging gravel onto the racing line at Ascari.

More drivers went off than didn't in truth and given the importance of the ground-effect aerodynamics with these F1 cars and the amount of downforce that can be lost due to floor damage, then any offs from hereon in could be crucial to who prospers and who struggles.

Williams pace but penalty concern?

Make no mistake, Williams' pace on Friday was pretty stunning. It was far more in line with what we saw from the team at the start of the season before its form began to slip before the summer break.

The really exciting thing from a Williams perspective was that in FP2, both Carlos Sainz - who was the standout driver of the day with two third places - and Alex Albon were comfortably in the top 10.

A dual-pronged attack on the points is what the team has been missing this season, so often relying on one driver or the other [though usually Albon] to pick up scoring positions.

But the squad must sort out communication ahead of qualifying otherwise its drivers could find themselves facing a trip to the FIA stewards. Sainz and Albon were both caught on the racing line while faster cars approached behind across Friday's running, and if that happens again in qualifying, then it is hard to see how they would be able to escape without a grid drop.

That would be a disaster when things look so promising but that is exactly what Friday debriefs are for.

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