Vettel poised for duel with Hamilton at Italian GP

Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel led Hamilton by 0.036 seconds in afternoon practice on Friday, while Hamilton and McLaren teammate Jenson Button finished 1-2 in front of Vettel in the morning session.Its a track that traditionally doesnt suit us, but we were happy with the car today, Vettel said. McLaren looks very quick in particular and the ones to beat this weekend, but its very difficult to judge on a Friday.Michael Schumacher of Mercedes, a five-time winner at Monza when he was with Ferrari, might also be poised for a resurgence after placing third in the afternoon, while Ferrari struggled in both sessions at its home race.Its always a special feeling to be here in Monza, said the 42-year-old Schumacher, who hasnt won a race since he came out of retirement last year. It certainly looks good in terms of my position today and Im pleased with that but we will only find out tomorrow what it is really worth.Vettel became the youngest winner in F1 history when he won at Monza in 2008 at 21 when he was with Toro Rosso, but his fourth-place finish last year was Red Bulls best result at the circuit.Red Bull is eager to improve its record this weekend because Vettel has won seven of the 12 races thus far this season and could wrap up a second consecutive championship at the next race in Singapore.Hamilton has also never won at the historic track north of Milan, with his best finish a second place during his rookie season in 2007. The British driver has two wins this season but is only fifth in the standings following a series of accidents that have marred six of his races.Hamilton had a chance at leading both practices, but he ran into traffic in the afternoon, slamming on his breaks after nearly running into Jaime Alguersuaris Toro Rosso just as he was finishing a fast lap.Hamilton also reported a problem with his clutch late in the second session.Schumacher had an up and down day. He was fortunate to avoid the wall after losing control midway through the 180-degree Parabolica turn during the morning, then had to back off the throttle suddenly during the middle of the same turn in the afternoon to keep the car from hitting the gravel again.