Italian GP FP2: Lewis Hamilton fastest as Alonso hits trouble

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the 2nd free practice session at Monza, leading his team-mate Jenson Button to a solid one-two. There was trouble for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and current Championship leader, as his car suffered from gearbox and brake problems.

The standing driver Jerome D'Ambrosio (replacing Romain Grosjean) got to grips with his Lotus racing car, and managed 13th place. The highlight of the session came when Kimi Raikkonen got a bit too aggressive with the kerbs on the 2nd corner of the track and got airborne. No significant damage was done and Kimi was able to return to the pits.

The final (3rd) free practice session will start today, before the ever crucial qualifying for Italian GP 2012.

Here are the top 5 from yesterday's FP2...

- Lewis Hamilton
- Jenson Button
- Fernando Alonso
- Felipe Massa
- Nico Rosberg

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Hamilton to Mercedes? : Silly season 2012 in full swing!

Lewis Hamilton may be switching to Mercedes next season, thereby ending his 6 year long stint with McLaren, even since he joined back in 2007. That is the rumor circling around in the paddock nowadays.

Initially started by BBC co-presenter, and former Jordan boss, Eddie Jordan, the rumor has spread like wild fire and is now being talked about throughout the F1 fraternity. It is interesting to remember that Hamilton's 5 year deal is due to end at the close of the current 2012 season. Hamilton's recent performances have been pretty solid, with a few mishaps and accidents, but many experts believe it's the lack of communication between the drtiver and the team that could eventually lead them both to split.

Lewis Hamilton has always been a straight talker and rarely decides to shy away from speaking his mind. The McLaren team on the other hand maintains a very corporate and professional look in their way of doing business on and off the track.

If Hamilton does decide to switch, it is very likely that Schumacher will be the one to leave the team and Formula 1. Regarding the matter, this is what Eddie Jordan had to say...

“I believe Hamilton and Mercedes have already agreed personal terms and a deal could be imminent,”

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Jérôme d’Ambrosio stands in for Grosjean at Monza

It's Official. Jerome d' Ambrosio will be standing in for the French driver Romain Grosjean in next week's Italian GP at Monza.

This was confirmed today by the Lotus team, after the one race ban that was handed to Grosjean with regards to the first lap incident in Belgian GP. Romain Grosjean was blamed for starting the chain of events that led towards championship contenders like Alonso and Hamilton retiring on the first lap. Other drivers that were affected in the crash were Sergio Perez, Kamui Kobayashi, and Pastor Maldonado.

Naturally, Ambrosio, now 26, is pumped up by the opportunity and is looking forward to racing after a long time in F1. He lets his feelings out by saying...

“My desire for 2012 has always been to get back into the seat of a Formula 1 car, so I am grabbing this opportunity with both hands,”

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Beglian GP Friday FP2: A Complete Washout

Team Marussia F1 are celebrating their 50th grand prix entry and what better to do it than take the first place in the second session of Free practice. No, you're not reading this wrong. Charles Pic was some of the few drivers who actually went out and did some running on the extremely wet Spa Francorchamps track.

Over the course of the complete 90 minutes of the session, not even a single competitive time was set. Drivers went out in the dying minutes of the session to trundle around and do some practice starts.

The weather forecast seems to indicate a dry spell on Saturday, with a strong chance of rain again during Sunday's race. This will put huge pressure on the teams to figure out their car handling and setup during the crucial Free practice 3 session tomorrow.

Here are the top 5 standings from the FP2 session.

1. Charles Pic Marussia 02:49.354
2. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 02:49.750
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 02:50.497
4. Paul di Resta Force India 02:51.333
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams 02:51.660

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Robert Kubica Return: Alonso is very uncertain

Robert Kubica is still in recovery mode after his horrific crash back in 2011 in a rally car, which almost took his life and left him hospitalized for weeks.

His good friend, Fernando Alonso meanwhile is quite uncertain if Kubica will ever be able to return to a full time ride in Formula 1.

"It’s very hard to say whether Robert will return to 100 percent fitness and be able to race again in Formula 1,"

Alonso also said that he keeps regular contact with his friend, and how Robert tells him he misses the life of F1. It is interesting to note that before Kubica's crash, he was widely tipped to replace Massa for the second Ferrari seat, which would have made him team-mates to Fernando Alonso. 

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