Monza: Alonso tops 2nd practice session

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso was fastest in Friday's second free practice for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza with a time of 1min22.386, which was also the fastest time of the day. His team mate Lewis Hamilton was second fastest with 1min23.209. Fernando completed 30 laps and Lewis did 33. In the morning session, Lewis was third fastest with 1min22.618 (18 laps) whilst Fernando was fourth with 1min22.840 (12 laps).

Fernando Alonso:

"Today went really well. We had a good idea of our performance from the test last week, and although the conditions have changed slightly since then, we were able to get an understanding of the set-up for the race, and I am happy with how the car felt. I missed a little time in the morning session when the team were fixing a small problem with my steering, but it didn't really make too much difference to our overall results."

Lewis Hamilton:

"We went through our usual set-up and Bridgestone Potenza tyre comparison work and now have a good understanding of our competitiveness this weekend. The car feels really good to drive round here, and we have already made some good steps forward today. However you never know what everyone else is doing, so we will be looking for further improvements before qualifying tomorrow."

Ron Dennis:

"A solid start to the weekend for both drivers. We took our usual conservative approach to both sessions, so the results so far have been encouraging."

Norbert Haug:

"A good start to the weekend. We completed our programme as planned following our test here last week. It looks like we have been able to build on the work carried out there. We now need to continue in the same direction tomorrow and on Sunday."

Pos Driver Team Time Behind Laps
1. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.386 30
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.209 + 0.823 33
3. Fisichella Renault 1:23.584 + 1.198 38
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:23.599 + 1.213 44
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:23.679 + 1.293 33
6. Massa Ferrari 1:23.722 + 1.336 27
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:23.821 + 1.435 38
8. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:23.833 + 1.447 12
9. Kovalainen Renault 1:23.848 + 1.462 32
10. Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:23.881 + 1.495 32
11. Trulli Toyota 1:23.919 + 1.533 39
12. R.Schumacher Toyota 1:23.922 + 1.536 29
13. Button Honda 1:24.137 + 1.751 36
14. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:24.328 + 1.942 31
15. Barrichello Honda 1:24.462 + 2.076 40
16. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:24.605 + 2.219 31
17. Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:25.328 + 2.942 27
18. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:25.459 + 3.073 36
19. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.531 + 3.145 24
20. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:25.567 + 3.181 26
21. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.863 + 3.477 40
22. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:26.021 + 3.635 6