Italian GP: Verstappen tops first practice as Antonelli crashes

Max Verstappen topped Friday’s opening practice for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.228s.

McLaren’s Lando Norris clocked in third, while Carlos Sainz and a surprising Valtteri Bottas completed the top five.

But the session was marked by an early red flag triggered by a heavy crash at the final corner by Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli on just the teenager’s second flying lap.

• Italian Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

In a welcome change to the previous few races, drivers kicked off FP1 under perfect conditions, with ambient temperatures set at 33°C and track temps at 50°C.

Talking points as the lights went green centered around the presence in the session of Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was starting his first official F1 practice, and fellow rookie Franco Colapinto, who has been assigned to Logan Sargeant’s seat at Williams until the end of the season.

The former, living up to his very high profile, lost no time getting down to business, the young Italian setting the fastest lap at the outset, although Mercedes’ decision to send both its drivers out on the soft rubber was certainly an advantage compared to the majority of the field running on mediums.

But there was drama on Antonelli’s second flying lap when the 18-year-old entered Parabolica way too fast and spun off into the gravel before heavily hitting the barriers.

The Mercedes charger walked away unscathed, but it was the worst possible scenario for the young gun, but also for his team which was deprived of mileage in the session, especially as Antonelli was running the outfit’s upgraded floor as part of the team’s back-to-back test to gain more knowledge of the aero element.

A clear case of pushing too hard too soon for the young man who is anticipated to replace Hamilton next season at Mercedes.

Looking on, George Russell looked unimpressed by the state of his damaged W15.

After a near 15-minute red flag pause during which the stricken Mercedes was hauled out of harm’s way, the session resumed.

Valtteri Bottas had been among the early leaders in FP1 and the Sauber driver – also on the softs – followed Hamilton at the top of the timing screens with a 1m22.127s, with Hamilton and Alex Albon forming the top three with 25 minutes left on the clock.

Speaking of Williams, Colapinto was indulging in a sensible session, if not a spectacular one, running approximately six-tenths adrift from his teammate’s best.

In a quasi-remake of Antonelli’s off, Sainz lost the rear of his Ferrari on the entry to the final corner but the experienced Spaniard was able to catch his prancing horse and survive to fight another lap.

With a little over ten minutes to go, a roar from the grandstands followed a hot lap from Leclerc that carried the local hero to the top, while Norris settled in just behind.

But both drivers were dispatched in short order by Verstappen’s 1m21.676s. It was a reassuring performance by the Dutchman who appeared to be struggling up to that point at the wheel of his RB20.

The session thus concluded with Verstappen and Red Bull back in charge, while Leclerc’s runner-up spot was an encouraging entry into the weekend for Ferrari. Norris completed the top three, 0.241s behind FP1’s pacesetter.

Thereafter followed Sainz and an impressive Bottas, Piastri, Hamilton, Albon, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso who rounded off the top ten.

At the other end of the spectrum, save for the unfortunate Antonelli, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg closed out the field, just behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

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