Verstappen tops FP1 in Italian GP as Antonelli crashes

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the timing board in the first practice session at Monza, for the Italian Grand Prix, whilst Mercedes’ protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed out early on.

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

It was a mix of tyre compounds for the Italian asphalt in dry conditions with some drivers out on the mediums and softs. The conditions were suitable for the aero tests as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso drove out with front aero rakes across the front suspension.   

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was given his first F1 session on home soil with Mercedes, in place of George Russell, as an FP1 rookie. 

At the same time, Franco Colapinto was enjoying his first full grand prix weekend as a Williams F1 driver having replaced Logan Sargeant, who was axed from the driver line-up.

However, Antonelli’s time was cut short after 11 minutes on the clock as he spun out at Parabolica causing an early red flag. The Italian driver raced into the final corner and the back end stepped out mid-corner before sliding across the gravel and sideways into the barrier.

After 13 minutes under red flag conditions, the session was finally resumed with Verstappen leading the pack out onto the circuit. 

For the remainder of the session, it was business as usual with the teams and drivers progressing through their programmes. However, only RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg completed their fastest laps on the mediums whilst the rest of the field was faster on the softs. 

Where did the pack finish in FP1?

Verstappen started the race weekend in the way he will likely want to finish it with the fastest lap, and at the top of the order, at the end of FP1 with a lap time of 1m 12.676s.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris completed the session in second and third respectively, two-tenths behind, whilst Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz and Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top five. 

Oscar Piastri was only sixth-fastest to complete the McLaren line up ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Williams’ Alexander Albon who finished seventh and eighth. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alonso completed the top 10.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas was the fastest driver inside the bottom 10, in 11th, ahead of the RB duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda who occupied 12th and 13th respectively. 

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the fastest Alpine down in 14th with teammate Esteban Ocon down in 18th. This left Kick Sauber’s Zhou Gunayu, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Colapinto to squeeze themselves into 15th, 16th and 17th. 

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was the last of the running drivers down in 19th as Antonelli completed the 20-car field in 20th.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• F1 Safety Car involved in bizarre Monza accident
• Has the writing been on the wall since Australia for Logan Sargeant?
• Albon leaves supporting message to Sargeant following drop
• Williams F1 replace Logan Sargeant ahead of Italian GP
• Andrea Kimi Antonelli to participate at home in Italian GP FP1
• A timeline of events: Haas F1 vs Uralkali

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.