08.09.13
DRIVERS 1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing) 2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari) 3 – Mark WEBBER (Red...

Vettel on pole as Red Bull lock out front row at Monza

Sebastian Vettel claimed his fourth pole position of the season with a convincing march to the front of the Monza grid ahead of Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber and surprise third-fastest man Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber.

Vettel fastest in final practice at Monza

Sebastian Vettel claimed top spot in the final free practice session ahead of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix and while the gap to his nearest rival was half yesterday’s frighteningly impressive six tenths of a second, the Drivers’ Championship leader continued to look the man to beat at Monza.

The Red Bull Racing driver ended the hour-long morning session 0.283 clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and just over three tenths of a second ahead of third-placed Mark Webber.

07.09.13
DRIVERS 1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing) 2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing) 3 – Nico...

Vettel quickest in Italian Grand Prix FP2

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel finished FP2 at Monza more than six-tenths clear of his nearest challenger, team-mate Mark Webber. After winning in Spa two weeks ago, Vettel said he expected a tougher challenge in Italy. So far it has not materialised.

The composition of the leaderboard was set in the first 35 minutes of the 90-minute session. When the lights went green the field took to the track with the hard tyre. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was the first to hold P1 for any meaningful length of time. His lap of 1:25.725 was half a second quicker than his best time in FP1.

Hamilton strikes first at Monza

A steady rather than spectacular first practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix saw Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rise to the top of the leaderboard, narrowly edging out Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton completed the fastest lap with 35 minutes of the session remaining. His time of 1:25.565 displaced that of Alonso, who had delighted the partisan Friday crowd a few minutes earlier by moving into P1 with a time of 1:25.863. The final half hour of the session did not see any improvement, as many drivers concentrated on longer runs.

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