No Max Verstappen in the first free practice of the Italian GP, but Charles Leclerc: he turns out to be the fastest in the first session in Monza. It also becomes clear for the first time how the new cars relate to the high-speed circuit in Italy.
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The timing sheet during FP1 shows four different names than usual. This is due to the rule that teams must use a rookie four times per season during free practice. That is why Verstappen at Red Bull gives up his car in the first session in Monza to Ayumu Iwasa and Paul Aron is replaced by Pierre Gasly at Alpine. At Williams, Luke Browning drives instead of Alexander Albon and at Cadillac Sergio Pérez has made way for Colton Herta.
The latter has a bad day. After a crash in the F2 training in the morning, the F1 training also ends on a sour note for him: the American’s car refuses to run after about twenty minutes. This causes a red flag. Lando Norris is the fastest at that moment, ahead of George Russell and Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. This duo is driving this weekend in a special livery as a tribute to seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Dangerous situations
The weekend is also special for Kimi Antonelli. The world championship leader hopes to become the first Italian since 1966 (!) to win the GP in his home country. That will be quite a challenge, as Antonelli will start from the last place due to grid penalties. In FP1, the Mercedes driver finishes fifth, but more importantly, it is noted that his long runs are very fast.
During the session, it also becomes clear for the first time how the new cars behave on this circuit. Is it slower, do you literally and figuratively have to ease off to go faster? The drivers are looking in FP1 for the best way to combine energy management in Monza with driving as fast as possible.
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In doing so, they sometimes get in each other’s way quite a bit, which leads to dangerous situations. For example, Iwasa is hindered among others and later also Yuki Tsunoda. He is at Racing Bulls, just like in Zandvoort, the replacement for Liam Lawson, who in turn is again substituting for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull.
From the pit wall at Red Bull, Verstappen meanwhile sees how Lawson neatly pushes the RB22 in FP1: fourth. That perhaps promises more good things for the team than previously thought. However, the best impression is made by Ferrari: Leclerc and Hamilton finish first and second and are faster on medium tires than the rest on soft tires.
The second free practice in Monza is scheduled for 16:00. Then Verstappen will be ‘just’ back in the car.
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Read everything about the Italian GP here
