Italy – Free Practice 1: Mercedes outclass their rivals and Haas spring a surprise
As usual, the first free practice session took place on Friday morning. Once again this weekend, the Halo is being tested by a handful of drivers, as are the prototype Pirelli tires for everyone else. Not surprisingly, the Mercedes engine gave the German team a clear advantage, with Rosberg setting the fastest time. Ferrari seems to be struggling a little on its home turf.
With a blue sky and a temperature of 25°C in the air, the drivers will be able to fully enjoy the track this morning. During this session, the young Mexican Alfonso Celis Jr, development driver for Force India, replaces Nico Hülkenberg.
At the green light, the drivers emerge from the garages and race onto the legendary Italian track. The drivers testing the Halo this morning are Jenson Button, Sergio Pérez, and Max Verstappen. The Brit, after an installation lap, launches into a fast lap with his car equipped with the Halo and Pirelli tire prototypes. He is the first to set a time of 1’28″922 this morning. Many cars can be seen fitted with black-sided tires; the manufacturer seems keen to emphasize thorough on-track testing. The drivers generally complained about them during the tests in Belgium. Pirelli thus still has some way to go to ensure their new tire models meet the drivers’ expectations.
After 15 minutes of the session, only 8 drivers have recorded a benchmark time, with Hamilton and Rosberg at the forefront, their benchmark times are 1’24″123 and 1’24″946. Next is Bottas’s car, followed by those of Pérez and Alfonso Celis, and finally those of Button, Wehrlein, and Esteban Ocon.
Few cars are on the track, most of the work is happening in the garages, with mechanics working on the different cars while the drivers either stay in their pit boxes or move around the stands. Approaching a third of the session, Sebastian Vettel heads out for a hot lap on soft tires, while in the pits, the soon-to-be-retired Felipe Massa looks glum as the engine of his Williams seems to be failing, with mechanics busy under the engine hood. By the end of his lap, Vettel positions himself in sixth place provisionally for this morning.
Here we are, the first third of the session is completed, and the top of the standings is still contested by the Mercedes drivers. At this moment, it’s Nico Rosberg who holds the best time with 1’23″651, the German has fitted the super-softs. Behind the Mercedes, Ferrari is holding its own at home, Vettel holds the 3rd time and Räikkönen the 4th. Next, we have Bottas, Alonso, Pérez, Ricciardo, Verstappen, and Grosjean.
We can see that the drivers are not idle this morning: Daniel Ricciardo goes very wide at the exit of the Ascari chicane, while Rosberg and Button put on a show with magnificent controlled slides at the exit of the 2nd chicane. News from Massa indicates that the problem is coming from the turbo, which is not working properly. Verstappen also performs a nice slide in the 2nd curve of the Ascari sequence, while Ricciardo goes very wide once again, but this time at the first Lesmo. Rosberg misses his braking at the 1st chicane and rides over the speed bumps.
For once, unlike the norm, Alonso’s McLaren is, as it was in Belgium, stationary in the garage for the mechanics to work on. Fortunately for the Brazilian driver, Massa was able to return to the track after the mid-session. Alonso also managed to get back on the track. In a rare sight, drivers stop at the light at the pit exit and successively perform starting procedures before entering the Italian temple, like a moment of communion with the gods of speed.
New update as we reach the second third of the session this Friday morning. The advantage is to Rosberg in the battle for the best time, with Hamilton 0″203 behind. Then we find Vettel’s Ferrari, Pérez’s Force India, Bottas’s Williams, followed by Räikkönen’s second Ferrari. A bit further back, Verstappen holds 7th place, ahead of Ricciardo, Button, and Alfonso Celis. Beyond the top 10, the Haases are knocking just behind Alonso, with the new double-wave wing the team brought here to Monza seemingly paying off. Behind the Haases, it’s the Frenchman Ocon in 14th place, ahead of Felipe Massa.
A preview of top speeds, Mercedes and Ferrari engines hold their ground, while the Honda engine surprises, Button recorded the 4th best top speed.
Only 17 minutes left before the end of the session, the Ferraris, which haven’t run much this morning, return to the track to the great delight of the tifosi, but also to close the gap with the Mercedes, which is currently over a second. Kimi Räikkönen improves his time and takes the lead over his teammate. In the last minutes, Alonso suffers another technical problem, his car gets stuck in 4th gear on the straight between Lesmo 2 and the Ascari chicane, he returns slowly.
End of the morning session, the checkered flag is waved and the drivers return to the pits. The Mercedes are in front with Rosberg and Hamilton, Ferrari is trailing but by far at 1 second with Räikkönen then Vettel. The top 5 is completed by Pérez, Romain Grosjean has taken the best 6th time driving his Haas ahead of Bottas and Verstappen. Gutierrez also completed a good timed lap and holds the 9th time ahead of Ricciardo. In the second part of the table, Alonso in 13th concluded his best time with the prototype tires. Esteban Ocon, for his part, completed a solid session ahead of his teammate by three tenths.
Meet this afternoon to follow the continuation of the festivities on the Italian track and under the sun, please.
