Italian GP – Free Practice 1: Hamilton comfortably on top to start

The 20 drivers arrived to the cheers of the crowd this morning in Monza. Spectators are already present in large numbers in the stands: there is no doubt that the resurgence of Scuderia Ferrari’s performance observed this season is not unrelated to it!

They were able to observe Lewis Hamilton’s new hairstyle, as he opted for an unprecedented blonde dye.

Blonde ambition: @LewisHamilton is test driving a new hair colour at Monza this weekend #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Q3yBv2KE9v

— Formula 1 (@F1) 3 Septembre 2015

On the weather front, the Lombard sky is quite overcast at the start of the day, but these initial trials will take place on dry ground. 23 degrees on the tarnac compared to 19 degrees in the air.

Once again this season, Jolyon Palmer takes Romain Grosjean’s spot in the seat of the Lotus E23 for this first training session.

For his first Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel has already acquired the etiquette codes: the four-time world champion is the first driver to take to the track, which, of course, delights the Tifosi.

The German driver also wanted to pay tribute to the late Justin Wilson, who tragically passed away on the Pocono track in IndyCar just under 2 weeks ago.

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel pay their respects to Justin Wilson #ItalianGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/76A3QNPjns

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 Septembre 2015

During the first installation lap, Nico Rosberg mentions a power issue over his radio.

Would the new Mercedes engine be experiencing a capricious start? The reigning world champion team has indeed decided to introduce an upgraded version of its power unit, which will bring some additional horsepower, much needed here in the long full-throttle stretches of Monza. One might already be concerned for the competition, which has already been sufficiently dominated since the start of the season…

After about ten minutes, the first driver to set a time is Max Verstappen. A minor time of 1:31:817. A more complicated start for his teammate Carlos Sainz, who is complaining about an engine problem on his Toro Rosso. The Spaniard will be penalized with a 10-place grid penalty due to an engine block change.

The first round of times already places both Mercedes at the top: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The Englishman is nearly one second faster than the German. Interesting information: both cars were clocked at over 350 km/h at top speed, which is more than 5 km/h faster than Nico Hülkenberg, the fastest car of the rest of the field. The engine innovations are already speaking for Mercedes.

SPEED TRAP: Scorching stuff so far from Hamilton and Rosberg #FP1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/ETroef7vGh

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 Septembre 2015

First incident in this session: after half an hour of the session, Carlos Sainz goes off track braking into the Parabolica. The Toro-Rosso gets stuck in the gravel trap, and the red flag is waved to safely remove the single-seater. The first Top 10 to note this weekend is: Hamilton (1:25:653), Rosberg, Vettel, Pérez, Maldonado, Hülkenberg, Kvyat, Räikkönen, Bottas, and Massa.

RED FLAG: Carlos Sainz comes to grief at T11 and the action on the track is put on hold #FP1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/z7E2yCGdeH

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 Septembre 2015

The two McLaren-Hondas are at the back of the standings, barely ahead of the two Manors. Just like in Belgium, they will be hit with penalties: the team is taking advantage of a circuit still too unfavorable to its two cars to change elements on both engines. Consequently, Jenson Button will move back 5 places on the grid, compared to 10 for Fernando Alonso. It’s safe to say that the real test of the team’s improvement will be the Singapore Grand Prix.

All the drivers have returned to the garage: calm sets in on the track for a few minutes. Daniel Ricciardo is the first to return to the track for the second round of laps. At the midway point of the session, the standings are as follows: Hamilton is still ahead of Rosberg. They are followed by Vettel, Pérez, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, Nasr, Kyvat, Maldonado and Räikkönen.

Leading the standings, Lewis Hamilton still seems just as calm: his teammate improves, but it’s not a concern for the 2014 World Champion, who responds immediately: 1:24.670. We enter the last half-hour and the competition is currently very far behind: Nico Hülkenberg is provisionally nearly 2 seconds off the benchmark time.

On the Ferrari side, it’s all quiet: Vettel and Räikkönen are completing only a few laps on the track. Let’s remember that Ferrari is also introducing a new engine here.

On track, Nico Rosberg recalls a very bad memory by going straight at the first chicane. It was right here that the German lost the 2014 Italian Grand Prix to the benefit of Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg has history with the chicanes at Monza and they have caused him trouble again today #ItalianGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/9ouQnHmUfr

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 Septembre 2015

We are entering the last 10 minutes of the session, and the drivers are gradually putting on the softest tires. Sebastian Vettel is catching up to the Mercedes, clawing back 0.7 seconds. He still has 1.3 seconds to make up.

At Red Bull, Daniil Kvyat doesn’t seem to have woken up on the right foot: as his engineer relays the lap times of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, the Russian responds, “I don’t care, I don’t care.” No doubt Helmut Marko didn’t appreciate his driver’s nonchalance.

It’s time for the very last laps in this first practice session of the 2015 Italian Grand Prix.

The dominance of Mercedes in pure performance is impressive: the first chaser, Sebastian Vettel, is more than 1 second and 5 tenths behind! Behind them, Force India, very fast in top speed, is positioning itself and will certainly be able to nurture great ambitions this Italian weekend.

On the Lotus side, Romain Grosjean, who observed this session from the pit lane, seems satisfied with the level of competitiveness of his car driven by Jolyon Palmer.

The driver who did the least laps was therefore Carlos Sainz, who did not return to the track after his incident at the Parabolica corner.

Here is the detailed ranking of this first Free Practice session:

See you this afternoon for the summary of the second session!