Hamilton sure he can go quicker still after Monza practice - MotorSportsTalk

Lewis Hamilton sent out an ominous statement of intent to his rivals by saying that he could go faster still after topping both practice sessions at Monza on Friday.

Running with an upgraded power unit for this weekend, Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg stormed to a one-two finish in FP1 and FP2.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari finished as the best of the rest in both sessions, but the gaps of 1.588 seconds and 0.759 seconds to Hamilton in FP1 and FP2 respectively make Mercedes’ advantage clear to see.

However, Hamilton still feels that there is more to come from Mercedes at Monza across the remainder of the weekend, saying after practice how he felt that there was extra pace in the car.

“Today was a good day definitely a testing day in terms of our programme,” Hamilton said. “I had a bit of a break in the second session but it was just so the team could check a few spikes in the data and everything was okay in the end.

“I didn’t particularly hook up the first two sectors this afternoon, they were definitely better in the morning. So I’m sure there’s some pace to find and I’ll be looking through the data tonight to find it.

“There’s nothing major, just very small tweaks here and there which might give that bit extra. The car is feeling good and the team are doing a great job but its still very intense out there.”

Regardless of his advantage, Hamilton said that he is still wary of the threat from behind that could come from Ferrari across the remainder of the weekend and the rest of the season.

“We’re working as hard as we can to keep improving and the challenge is always there no matter how fast you are,” Hamilton said.

“Now we need to keep it together through the weekend. It should be close with Nico as always so I’m looking forward to a battle.”

Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 8am ET on Saturday.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”