The first day of the 2013 Formula One Italian Grand Prix got off to a very summery start, with the second practice session taking place in 86 degree F (30 degree C) heat. The warm weather is expected to stay over the weekend but there is a chance of a storm both for tomorrow’s qualifying session and Sunday’s eventual race. Humidity levels for Sunday are predicted to  be around 70 percent and the precipitation around the same level.

This isn’t normal for the Autodromo di Monza, where the race is being held, and Pirelli is confident things will stay dry. The tire supplier has nominated its P Zero Orange hard tires and P Zero White medium tires: the same used for the previous Belgian Grand Prix.

After today’s practice sessions, it was Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel who proved fastest. His best lap was an impressive 1:24.453, which was followed by a 1:25.076 set by team-mate Mark Webber. Behind them were the two Lotus drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean and then it was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the two Mercedes AMG drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Alonso’s Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa was eighth fastest, although the Brazilian’s run was cut short thirteen minutes from the end when he suffered a gearbox problem.

Going into the weekend, Sebastian Vettel leads the Drivers’ Championship with 197 points. Fernando Alonso is in second with 151 points while Lewis Hamilton in third with 139 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing commands 312 points versus the 235 points of Mercedes AMG and the 218 points of Ferrari.

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