'Productive day' – Lawson and Red Bull assess Friday running ahead of Italian Grand Prix

Liam Lawson believes Red Bull had a "productive day" during Friday practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, despite neither himself nor team mate Max Verstappen challenging the leading contenders.

The New Zealander will race for Red Bull again this weekend having competed with the team in Zandvoort as a stand-in for Isack Hadjar, who continues to recover from a broken wrist.

Lawson managed to finish Free Practice 1 fourth in Italy, four tenths adrift of the top time, before only finishing P12 later in the afternoon as he focused on long runs.

"It was okay. It's been, I would say, a productive day. We spent most of FP2 doing long running," said Lawson, who finished P7 in the Netherlands after his switch from Racing Bulls.

"We did a short run at the start and felt okay, and then we just did two long runs on the soft and hard [tyre]. For me, it's good learning. I think I struggled more in Zandvoort in the race versus Qualifying, so I will try and learn what I can from it."

Verstappen finished FP2 in ninth, having missed the opening, one-hour session of practice as his Red Bull was driven by the team's reserve driver and rookie, Ayumu Iwasa.

The four-time World Champion suffered with bouncing during his running, as well as replacing his front wing at one stage, with Technical Director Pierre Wache admitting the team had work to do overnight in a bid to close the gap to the leading teams.

"We discovered some other issues with the car during FP2, especially on his car that we have to try and understand during this evening and for sure, fix for tomorrow," he said.

"We try to close the gap to the top. Normally on one lap, we are a little bit behind and on a long run, it's a little bit better but difficult to say. Everybody in the team is trying to close this gap for sure."