The Briton, also chasing a hat-trick of wins at the Monza circuit outside Milan, enjoyed a sunny afternoon with a fastest lap of one minute 22.801 seconds on the supersoft tyres after being second to Rosberg in the morning.
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A fully focused Nico Rosberg topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton in Friday’s opening free practice for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The triple world champion, who is bidding to become the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s to secure a hat-trick of consecutive wins at Monza, was almost half-a-second faster than his sole title rival.
Esteban Ocon managed just 13 laps after stopping out on track, with race control deploying the virtual safety vehicle while the Manor was cleared.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, whose aggressive defending against Raikkonen at Spa last weekend is still the talk of the paddock, was eighth for Red Bull in the morning and fifth in the second session.
Since 2000, the pole sitter has won 13 of 16 races in Monza and each of the past six years – with Hamilton himself taking three of those victories.
Featuring long straights and the highest speeds in F1 – up to 355 kph (220 mph) – there’s plenty of space to overtake but aerodynamics make it a challenge.
On Sunday, Hamilton will be aiming to become the first driver since Fangio in 1955 to win at Monza three consecutive years.
Max Verstappen, Jenson Button, and Sergio Perez tested out a protective halo device created to reduce the risk of head injuries, following the deaths of F1 driver Jules Bianchi and British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson a year ago.
The Italian team have introduced their last permitted engine development for their home race in an attempt to close the gap to Mercedes and shore up their attempt to recover second place in the constructors’ championship from Red Bull.
Monza has agreed a deal to host the Italian Grand Prix for the next three years, it was announced on Friday.
While the deal hasn’t been officially signed yet, Ecclestone said it’s just a matter of “small details” at this point.
“I think today showed that we are still a bit off the podium spot”, said his Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo.
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Williams driver Felipe Massa, who on Thursday announced he will be retiring from the sport at the end of the season, was 11th, despite battling a number of vehicle issues.
