F1 Italian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1
Friday's opening action from the 16th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season
F1 arrives in Italy for one of the most iconic events on the calendar, and with McLaren and Lando Norris looking to continue their hunt of Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
First practice starts at 12:30am BST, with second practice following at 4pm BST.
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Good afternoon and welcome to Monza for first practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
Between weekends, there has been one story standing above all else, with Franco Colapinto replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams.
Learning of his promotion early in the week, Colapinto has had a very brief adaptation period, and Alex Kalinauckas gives his initial impression of the Argentinian.
More from Alex, who spotted Gene Haas taking a moment to look at Red Bull's RB20 (back in its low-downforce specification for Monza's straights) during the pre-FP1 pitlane walkabout a little while ago, with a Haas team staffer in tow.
Alex was also lucky enough to be at a Haas team breakfast briefing today - excellent eggs Benedict, where there was confirmation of what he has previously reported about the team getting a new motorhome for the start of the 2025 European season.
The lights are green and the FP1 is go!
Some big aero rakes are on display at Aston Martin. But now, all the cameras have shifted to one man, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who takes to the track for the first time.
Fastest for Antonelli, as Hamilton slots into second. A 1m23.955s for the Italian.
A moment for Verstappen on his opening lap as he brakes late for the first chicane and elects to use the escape road rather than risk locking up and ruining his tyres.
It's the same on the latest lap for Verstappen too. Although this time, he was attempting to pass a Haas while braking for the corner.
Red flags and it's the worst possible situation for Antonelli, as he drops it at the final corner and makes heavy contact with the barriers.
Coming down the back straight, he appeared to get a snap of oversteer just beyond the apex. It could potentially have been something as simple as carrying too much speed in.
Antonelli: "I'm sorry."
Wolff: "Kimi, all good. All good Kimi."
“Watching the Alpine protestors opposite the pit exit as FP1 commenced - they are all standing, displaying their protest banners, but applauded Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly as they headed out on track”
Photo by: Alex Kalinauckas
While we wait for green flag conditions to return, Hamilton sits at the top of the pile with a 1m23.350s, just 0.044s clear of Norris.
The session will resume in a few seconds at 1353 local time.
Verstappen leads the field out again as the track goes green.
Mercedes has confirmed that Antonelli was running the updated, but the team has also confirmed that it has spares so the crash will not impact the rest of the plans for the weekend.
With a mix of soft and medium tyres on show, Bottas has gone to the top with a 1m22.416s on softs.
A heart-in-mouth moment for Mercedes as Hamilton runs wide and into the gravel at the second Lesmo. He sprays the gravel into the air but there's no visible damage done as he continues on.
Back to the top for Hamilton with a 1m22.214s but Bottas is consistently up there and only a couple of tenths back on the ultimate pace.
Drivers are currently being fairly respectful in keeping off the line when on a recharge lap. Expect that to change as the weekend progresses.
Hold the phone! Bottas is back to P1 with a 1m22.127s. A Friday special effort or something more representative?
"At Ascari and its controversial new, flat kerbs - one car stands out. The Williams is a handful every time Albon and Colapinto push - Albon did so well to hold a massive rear kick between the second and third parts of the complex just now"
Looking at F1's newest rookie, Colapinto is currently ninth fastest and about six-tenths off team-mate Albon. A steady start, if not spectacular.
20 minutes remain in the session and even as Leclerc bolts on the soft tyres and goes for an effort, he is unable to match Bottas.
Showing the benefit of experience, Sainz loses the rear at the final corner in a similar fashion to Antonelli, but catches it and delivers a pithy, "Oh, tricky one."
Into the closing stages now and we're seeing drivers running almost exclusively the soft compound now.
The tifosi would like this to be repeated across the weekend, as Leclerc now goes fastest with a 1m21.904s. Norris also dips below the 1m22 barrier in second.
Having been languishing down in 18th, Verstappen finally gets a lap in and goes top with a 1m21.676s, blitzing the pack by 0.228s.
As the session nears an end, what are the takeaways? Firstly, there appears to be very little to separate Verstappen, Ferrari and McLaren.
Once again, it appears that Perez could be flirting with a Q2 exit, although Bottas in fifth will likely regress through the order by qualifying, giving some extra breathing room.
The chequered flag falls and Hulkenberg is the first driver to take it.
It looks like Colapinto has had an off on his final lap with the car covered in flo-vis paint.
A similar one to Antonelli again, but he caught the spin and locked the brakes as he slid into the gravel before narrowly avoiding the barrier.
With all the action over, Verstappen is fastest from Leclerc, Norris and Sainz. Bottas is a surprise fifth from Piastri, Hamilton, Albon, Perez and Alonso, who rounds out the top 10.
Unsurprisingly, Antonelli is the slowest driver following his early exit.
But of those with representative running, Hulkenberg was the slowest man, with Ocon just ahead.
A very tardy practice start from Verstappen as he completely bogs down and drops into anti-stall.
By: Haydn Cobb
