F1: Mercedes closing in on pole record in top Friday practice at Monza
MONZA, Italy -- With Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominating practice for the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes is on track for its 23rd consecutive pole position Saturday.
Williams holds the Formula One record of 24 straight poles, set in 1992 and 1993.
Hamilton and Rosberg finished 1-2 in both of Friday's practice sessions.
In the afternoon, championship leader Hamilton clocked the day's best time of 1:24.279 seconds around the Monza circuit, which features the highest speeds in Formula One. Rosberg, who became a father for the first time last weekend, was a narrow 0.021 seconds behind.
The last time Mercedes didn't take pole came at last year's Austrian GP, when Felipe Massa of Williams took the first spot on the grid.
Hamilton has taken 10 of 11 poles this year, with Rosberg beating him only in Spain.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, competing in a Ferrari for the first time at Monza, finished third in both practice sessions -- narrowing his gap from more than 1.5 seconds in the morning to under a second in the afternoon.
Force India drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez flip-flopped between fourth and fifth over the two trainings.
Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari placed sixth in both sessions, while Romain Grosjean of Lotus was seventh in the afternoon.
Grosjean sat out the morning to give Jolyon Palmer a chance behind the wheel amid speculation that the cash-strapped Lotus team could be taken over by Renault.
Mercedes-powered cars took eight of the top 10 spots in both practices, with only the Ferraris preventing a sweep.
Toro Rosso continued to have problems. After Carlos Sainz spun out in the morning and had to abandon his car on the gravel, Max Verstappen ended up on the gravel in the afternoon, just barely avoiding the barriers.
After frightening tire deterioration incidents for Rosberg and Vettel in Belgium two weeks ago and an ensuing investigation from sole supplier Pirelli, there was more worry from Verstappen in the morning.
After the Dutchman wobbled through the 180-degree Parabolica turn following only four laps on a set of medium rubber, he radioed his team, "I have no rear tires left. I'm having a lot of trouble with traction now."
Vettel was among several drivers who put a sticker on their helmet to commemorate the death of IndyCar driver Justin Wilson. The sticker contained an image of Wilson's helmet with the words, "Rest in peace, Justin."
Full FP2 results:
Full FP1 results:
