Mercedes and Hamilton on top at Monza for FP1

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Lewis Hamilton emerged as the fastest runner in Monza's temple of speed in the first free practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton concluded his morning of work in Italy with a blistering 1:21.537, keeping his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas at a fair distance of 0.435s.

It was team formation all the way back to P8 but Mercedes' advantage over arch-rival Ferrari was over one second while Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were separated by just 0.037s.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen also flew in formation for Red Bull in fifth and sixth, followed by the competitive but reined in Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.

Stoffel Vandoorne brought glimmers of hope to McLaren and Honda with a P9 performance and Felipe Massa closed off the top ten standings for Williams.

Rain was an ever-present threat throughout the session, enticing drivers to take to the track early on although ultimately only sporadic drizzles fell from the skies.

Adverse weather is still on its way however and could affect the afternoon session.

Italian Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:21.537s		28
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:21.972s	+ 0.435s	31
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:22.652s	+ 1.115s	24
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:22.689s	+ 1.152s	28
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:22.742s	+ 1.205s	28
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:22.749s	+ 1.212s	23
7	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:23.317s	+ 1.780s	36
8	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:23.400s	+ 1.863s	34
9	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:23.465s	+ 1.928s	24
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:23.561s	+ 2.024s	37
11	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:23.680s	+ 2.143s	22
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:23.973s	+ 2.436s	22
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:23.991s	+ 2.454s	30
14	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:24.012s	+ 2.475s	27
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:24.015s	+ 2.478s	17
16	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:24.079s	+ 2.542s	22
17	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:24.542s	+ 3.005s	17
18	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:25.166s	+ 3.629s	21
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:25.223s	+ 3.686s	26
20	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:25.687s	+ 4.150s	17

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.