MONZA, Italy — Carlos Sainz preserved his lead by the skin of his teeth during Friday’s free for the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Sainz kept his Ferrari ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen — last week’s winner and current point leader — who turned the second best lap. Verstappen’s quickest lap was .143 seconds slower than Sainz’s 1:21.664 leading lap time, but the Red Bull driver was still happy with the progress he had made, considering his fifth-place effort during the opening practice. To put him somewhat at ease, the Ferrari driver that Verstappen’s fighting for the title finished behind him in practice. “We know that this track should be particularly suited to Max’s [Verstappen] and Sergio’s [Perez] car. Verstappen is facing a five-place grid drop, while the remaining drivers will start from the back of the field.

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