REPORT: Finding our feet in Monza

The team will have plenty of valuable data to pour over into the evening after two solid Practice sessions on Friday at the Italian Grand Prix.

For Franco Colapinto, FP1 and FP2 allowed him to get more accustomed to the FW46 and how it operates, while cycling through our Practice programmes.

The Argentine completed 43 laps across both sessions and his best time in FP2, a 1:21.784, was good enough for P17 and only a couple of tenths shy of his teammate.

Alex recorded 49 laps over both sessions, with his own PB coming in FP2 - a 1:21.592 - ranking him P13.

Franco and Alex clocked the joint-quickest speed through the Monza speed trap in FP2, registering at 353 km/h (219 mph) just before the T1 braking zone.

"I’m very proud to have completed my first Friday as a Formula 1 driver," Franco shared after FP2.

"There are things to work on with the team but overall, it was a good first day.

"Instead of going for lap times, I focused on myself by building up everything throughout the sessions.

"I was careful in FP1 as I wanted to put the laps in. On the long runs, I’m still trying to understand how to keep the tyre alive for longer and find that sweet spot.

"I felt a lot more comfortable in FP2 as I was trying to find the limit and was more consistent which was a good step for my confidence. I’m super grateful to everyone in the team for helping me get up to speed this weekend."

Alex continued our Friday reaction by adding: "Today felt mostly strong except for our Soft tyre run in FP2, but other than that, everything else was pretty good.

"We’re in a decent place but it’s close out there and we definitely have some work to do.

"I think tomorrow will be a trade between Qualifying and race pace; there’s a lot of graining going on right now and it’s hurting the tyres a lot.

"In terms of getting the one lap performance and also the long run performance is a bit of a challenge, so let’s see what sweet spot we can find."

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, wrapped up our Friday by commenting: "As expected, the track was quite dirty in the beginning of FP1 and the grip was low.

"As all curbs are new as well, FP1 was all about learning and understanding how the tyres are behaving on this new surface.

"Both drivers felt comfortable with the car from the start. Alex’s pace on the Medium tyre was encouraging and Franco used both sessions to build up his confidence and pace.

"We’ve seen that there is a lot of graining in the long runs across the field so it will be key to find a balance between Qualifying and race performance."