Lewis Hamilton leads opening practice at Italian Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton leads the way after the first practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing 1-2 ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc at Monza.

Feature image credit: Ferrari Media

Ferrari look to be on the pace after the first hour of practice, which has been hindered by incidents on track. Hamilton set the fastest lap of the session ahead of Leclerc who was just 0.169 seconds behind the seven-time world champion, in front of the teams beloved Tifosi.

Both drivers ran the medium and soft compound tyres in the first hour of Free Practice session at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three, in third, finishing 0.533 seconds behind his former teammate Leclerc.

A brief red flag was brought out mid-session after Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar kicked up gravel onto the circuit, at the Ascari chicane, forcing the marshals to clear away the debris.

Meanwhile, later on in the session, the Virtual Safety Car was brought out in the dying stages as Mercedes George Russell stated he lost power out on track.

There were some changes ahead of the session with two rookie drivers taking part. Alex Dunne replaced Oscar Piastri at McLaren, while Paul Aron took part in place of Franco Colapinto for Alpine.

Embed from Getty Images

How the first hour ended…

1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari – 1m 20.117s
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.169s 
3. Carlos Sainz, Williams +0.533s
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.575s
5. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.823s
6. Lando Norris, McLaren +0.904s
7. Alexander Albon, Williams +0.956s
8. George Russell, Mercedes +0.993
9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +0.997s
10. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls +1.041s
11. Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber +1.055s
12. Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber +1.062s
13. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.084s
14. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull +1.175s 
15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1.178s
16. Alexander Dunne, McLaren +1.489s
17. Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.525s
18. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.536s
19. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.941s
20. Paul Aron, Alpine +2.036s

Read more Formula 1 here:

• McLaren confirm FP1 rookie ahead of Italian Grand Prix
• McLaren identify Lando Norris issue ahead of Italian Grand Prix
• Italian Grand Prix: The latest weather report
• Lewis Hamilton gets five-place grid penalty for Italian Grand Prix
• Stewards give reason for Carlos Sainz penalty
• Oscar Piastri wins Dutch Grand Prix as Isack Hadjar seals podium

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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.