F1 Italian Grand Prix live commentary and updates – FP1
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WE'LL BE BACK LATER FOR FP2
Intriguing scenes here at Monza for sure, but it's early days yet - the track obviously evolved quite a bit over the course of that session and the softs finally began to work.
Join us again later at 17:00 for FP2.
FERRARI 1-2 IN FP1 AT MONZA
Russell's halted car triggers a VSC so there's no more chance to set quick laps as the clock runs down.
His sudden stop triggered a bit of a moment for Yuki Tsunoda, who looked like he was doing a race sim (he was on mediums) and just passing a Sauber.
Interestingly, Russell's team-mate Antonelli managed to string a decent lap together – no doubt on a fresh set of softs, given the size of the flat spot he incurred during his earlier 'moment' - and ends the session fifth, ahead of Lando Norris.
So an encouraging session for Ferrari, a muted one for McLaren. When was the last time a papaya car ended FP1 almost a second down on the pacesetter? Fascinating scenes.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images
Replays showed George Russell in a tizzy - moved over to let Hamilton past on the approach to the second chicane, then resumed his line but had to bail out of the corner at the entry point as he clocked two other cars arriving on push laps.
To cap it all, he's under investigation for not taking the correct route through the escape road.
And then he has to abort his push lap almost at the same point next time round, pulling over onto the grass and reporting a loss of power.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
ARISE THE HAMFOSI
Under five minutes to go and Lewis Hamilton goes P1 with his push lap, 0.0169s faster than his team-mate. If 'Bono' were on the pitwall he would no doubt have greeted this with a "Get in there, Lewis!"
WE WROTE TOO SOON
"Events, dear boy, events..." On-track business evolving faster than we can type as Carlos Sainz goes second fastest on Softs, demoting Hamilton to fourth.
Lando Norris currently P5 and both he and Hamilton are out again on softs, so perhaps some improvement is in the offing.
Hamilton currently third fastest but 0.477s off Leclerc's time, so he won't be hugely happy with that.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images
It's still complaints o'clock as Alex Dunne is next on the radio to harrumph at being held up. Oliver Bearman is the guilty party here.
Leclerc on a flyer here on softs, purple in sector one, green in sector two, then across the line (purple in sector three) to usurp Verstappen with a 1m20.286s, 0.406s faster.
Interesting, that, since many other drivers seem to be struggling to get a quick lap out of those softs. And as if to prove our point, Kimi Antonelli has a huge lock-up at Turn 1. He's still 1.141s off the pace.
Pierre Gasly complaining about a Williams dawdling on the racing line again. He suggests that they should "have a word" with the Williams pitwall. Hopefully not in the style of a mid-2000s British gangster film starring Danny Dyer...
We're back underway after that short pause. Charles Leclerc has been investigated and exonerated for overtaking a Sauber just as the red flag was displayed – Charles was on a push lap and the Sauber wasn't, so it was entirely accidental and pretty much unavoidable.
Having seen a replay of Hadjar's off, we can definitively finger him as the guilty party for the red flag.
Hadjar is currently P5 but his attempt to lap quickly on hards came unstuck at Ascari, where he got a substantial twitch early in the corner and ran on to the gravel. TV replays show Kimi Antonelli having a big moment at the same corner and also depositing gravel on the track, so it's unclear at the moment whether Hadjar's moment was cause or symptom.
We have a red flag while brushes and elbow grease are deployed to restore the gravel to its rightful place.
Dunne now down to P16 as the track gets busy and quali sims are on the cars. Looks like Lando Norris aborted his push lap since he's P10.
Yes, replays reveal Norris went wide at Lesmo 1 and scraped the McLaren's floor across the kerb, then did the same at Lesmo 2 and immediately backed out.
YOU'VE BEEN DUNNE
Alex Dunne's first push lap is 0.914s off Verstappen's current benchmark, which elevates him from P20 to... P10. Must try harder.
Norris also out now.
Quiet now on track with just Russell lapping, and Dunne rejoining after a brief visit to the pits. He's on soft tyres so is likely to be heading for a push lap imminently.
Sainz crosses the line just 0.132s in arrears of Verstappen – on hards! Just goes to show how much the track is evolving. Or how quick the Williams is in a straight line. Or a combination of the two – bear with us while we draw a Venn diagram...
25 minutes gone and the fastest lap so far is Max Verstappen's 1m20.751s on mediums.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Big but ultimately harmless spin for Aron at the second chicane there – he got a wheel on the gravel at the entry and rotated onto the asphalt run off.
Paul then rejoined as per the race director's instructions, taking the appropriate escape road. Unlike Isack Hadjar, who earns a black-and-white flag for failing to follow the race director's instructions.
ALWAYS THE SAME GUY
Pierre Gasly tripping over Carlos Sainz on his push lap there, and he points this out on the radio along with a "Always the same ****ing guy", which we believe is how Carlos greeted his contretemps with Liam Lawson last weekend.
Is this rapidly becoming an F1 in-joke?
Elsewhere in rookieland, Paul Aron is in Franco Colapinto's Alpine. He's just run over a patch of gravel at the exit of the second Lesmo, deposited by Liam Lawson running wide.
Paul Aron, Alpine F1 has a seat fit
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Alex Dunne still hasn't been in for proper helmet padding. The Irish are made of sterner stuff.
The braking zone for the first chicane at Monza is really something to behold if you ever visit. It's incredible how late they brake and how much speed they shed – from max velocity to 40km/h in less than a hundred metres!
The G-forces are enough to make teardrops fly out of the drivers' eyes and onto their visors.
14 cars on track at the moment, everyone on medium-compound Pirellis except Liam Lawson and Alex Albon, who are on hards.
Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc join the getting-Turn-1-not-quite-right-club.
Lando Norris aborts his entry to Turn 1 and goes through the asphalt run-off.
WHO DUNNE IT
Alex Dunne observes over the radio that he doesn't have the correct headrest setup so this needs to be addressed when he comes back to the pits.
MEET THE HAMFOSI
And what a moment for Lewis Hamilton as he gets ready to head out onto this hallowed asphalt for the first time as a Ferrari driver. Shame he has a five-place grid penalty for the race, but Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur explained yesterday why the team didn't ask for right of review.
And Hamilton leaves the pits with his rear wing a veritable halo of flo-viz paint.
BENVENUTI A MONZA
Hark at the atmosphere, the whispering trees through which have echoed the roars of Ferraris, Maseratis, Mercedes, BRMs, Fords, etc, in temps perdu.
We are about to go live with FP1 at Monza in the lovely sunshine of early meteorological autumn.
A general view of the old banking
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
By: Stuart Codling
