Hamilton: Mercedes still lagging behind Ferrari

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton admits that his side are still "lagging" behind Ferrari following today's Ferrari 1-2 in FP2.

Hamilton finished FP2 0.287 seconds slower than Sebastian Vettel who set the quickest time at Monza.

"We did plenty of laps this afternoon in the dry and we could see that, like in Spa, we had a small gap to Ferrari on both the short and the long runs," Hamilton said after the second practice session, where he finished third fastest.

"My laps felt pretty good, but Ferrari was a little bit quicker today.

"It has been a big battle for a number of races now. They have had a small advantage since the middle of the summer. But we are pushing as hard as we can to overcome that.

"We're all working flat out right now in every part of the team, and we have work to do tonight as well. But there are some areas where we can see deficits.

"I hope we can make a little step for qualifying. It will be a very close fight tomorrow and, like every race weekend, we will be giving it everything we have got."

Hamilton is currently on top in the drivers' standings, leading Vettel by 17 points and will be determined that the gap increases by the time Sunday's Italian Grand Prix has concluded.