Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Verstappen reassures the Red Bull clan, Antonelli sees red!

Two new drivers are among the 20 entered for this first practice session at Monza.

It is about Franco Colapinto replacing Logan Sargeant, who was fired by Williams Racing at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an F2 driver who is expected to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year.

Antonelli triggers a red flag after 10 minutes.

For his first laps at Monza behind the wheel of George Russell’s W15, Andrea Kimi Antonelli sets quite fast times. His car is equipped with soft tires allowing him to push the limits of grip on this freshly renovated track.

Unfortunately, at the entry of the parabolic turn, he loses the rear of his Mercedes which will come crashing against the tire barrier after crossing the gravel trap. If the driver comes out unscathed, his car is heavily damaged and will require major repairs so that driver number 63 can recover a functional W15 for the FP2 at 5:00 PM.

Discovery of a resurfaced layout

The temple of speed has undergone a refreshment in recent weeks. The asphalt has been completely renewed. The organizers of the Italian Grand Prix also took the opportunity to redesign the speed bumps. They have been “flattened”.

Turn one has also been revised, closing the entry to the chicane slightly more.

With these modifications, drivers are rather cautious and try to gradually understand the new limits.

After the mid-session, we find Valtteri Bottas in the lead followed by Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, and Lando Norris, with the struggling cars being the Haas and Aston Martin.

In general, we can see that this new asphalt makes the usual settings a little less effective. The single-seaters seem more difficult to handle at a fast pace. Thus, Carlos Sainz and Nico Hülkenberg suffered the same loss of control at the entrance of the parabolic as Kimi Antonelli. But the Spanish driver managed to control his Ferrari, just like the German in his Haas.

A more dynamic end to the session

For the last quarter of an hour, the drivers release themselves and seek a little more performance on soft tires. If the McLarens remain among the leaders, we find the Ferraris at the top of the timesheets at home.

The Ferrari team has opted for a rather unloaded aerodynamics with a very flat rear wing. It is a specific configuration for Monza that seems to work well in a timed lap and will provide top speed in the race without waiting for the benefits of the DRS. Charles Leclerc finished second and Carlos Sainz fourth.

If the Red Bulls seemed to be in difficulty, especially with Verstappen placed at the back of the pack and Sergio Perez struggling with the constant understeer and oversteer of his car (9th fastest time), the reigning world champion wanted to reassure his team by taking the lead of the session five minutes before the end, with a two-tenths advantage over Leclerc and Norris.

It is necessary to note the very good performances of Bottas and Albon who manage to stay in the top 8 once the checkered flag is waved.

It is surprising to see that the Stake F1 Team is ranked 5th after holding the top times throughout the session. The Finnish driver’s comeback to the top of the standings?

The rankings