Simon Trummer produced a surprise fastest lap at the end of the second GP3 free practice session at Monza, in which title contenders Valtteri Bottas and James Calado opted not to take to the track.
The ART duo, who are separated by five points at the head of the drivers' standings, both watched the session from the pits as they took the unusual decision to save their tyres for the rest of the weekend.
Tom Dillmann occupied first place for the majority of the session, which contained several incidents. Alexander Sims went off the track and hit the tyre wall at the Parabolica within the first ten minutes, though he was able to rejoin. The same couldn't be said for fellow Brits Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and Lewis Williamson, who managed to clash at the same point, ending up in the gravel and bringing an early end to their sessions.
Dillmann looked set to take the honours until Trummer shaded his time by 0.031s at the end of the session after slipstreaming teammate Mitch Evans. Quaife-Hobbs ended up in third despite his incident, ahead of Evans, Gabby Chaves and Richie Stanaway.
Conor Daly, whose father Derek is the FIA driver steward at Monza this weekend, was seventh fastest, with Tamas Pal Kiss, Nigel Melker and Williamson completing the top ten.
Qualifying, where two all-important bonus points are available for pole position, takes place at 8:45 local time on Saturday morning.
Practice 2 times:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Simon Trummer | MW Arden | 1:45.103 | 14 | |
| 2 | Tom Dillmann | Addax Team | 1:45.134 | 0.031 | 13 |
| 3 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:45.142 | 0.039 | 6 |
| 4 | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1:45.245 | 0.142 | 14 |
| 5 | Gabby Chaves | Addax Team | 1:45.282 | 0.179 | 14 |
| 6 | Richie Stanaway | Lotus ART | 1:45.379 | 0.276 | 8 |
| 7 | Conor Daly | Carlin | 1:45.387 | 0.284 | 15 |
| 8 | Tamas Pal Kiss | Tech 1 Racing | 1:45.415 | 0.312 | 13 |
| 9 | Nigel Melker | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:45.447 | 0.344 | 13 |
| 10 | Lewis Williamson | MW Arden | 1:45.467 | 0.364 | 6 |
| 11 | Alexander Sims | Status Grand Prix | 1:45.638 | 0.535 | 13 |
| 12 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Addax Team | 1:45.658 | 0.555 | 14 |
| 13 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Status Grand Prix | 1:45.663 | 0.560 | 14 |
| 14 | Nico Muller | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.727 | 0.624 | 13 |
| 15 | Aaro Vainio | Tech 1 Racing | 1:45.802 | 0.699 | 13 |
| 16 | Zoel Amberg | Atech CRS GP | 1:45.804 | 0.701 | 14 |
| 17 | Matias Laine | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:45.867 | 0.764 | 15 |
| 18 | Rio Haryanto | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:45.912 | 0.809 | 14 |
| 19 | Michael Christensen | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:46.032 | 0.929 | 13 |
| 20 | Nick Yelloly | Atech CRS GP | 1:46.051 | 0.948 | 13 |
| 21 | Ivan Lukashevich | Status Grand Prix | 1:46.098 | 0.995 | 11 |
| 22 | Marlon Stockinger | Atech CRS GP | 1:46.314 | 1.211 | 7 |
| 23 | Callum MacLeod | Carlin | 1:46.353 | 1.250 | 13 |
| 24 | Leonardo Cordeiro | Carlin | 1:46.446 | 1.343 | 13 |
| 25 | Maxim Zimin | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.792 | 1.689 | 8 |
| 26 | Thomas Hylkema | Tech 1 Racing | 1:46.872 | 1.769 | 13 |
| 27 | Daniel Mancinelli | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:46.991 | 1.888 | 6 |
| 28 | Christophe Hurni | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.709 | 2.606 | 13 |
