Hamilton seeking more speed

World champion Fernando Alonso edged out Hamilton at the end of the first day of action in Monza, but the team are not taking the threat of their rivals lightly.

Hamilton said: "We went through our usual set-up and Bridgestone Potenza tyre comparison work and now have a good understanding of our competitiveness this weekend.

"The car feels really good to drive round here, and we have already made some good steps forward today. However you never know what everyone else is doing, so we will be looking for further improvements before qualifying tomorrow."

Alonso added: "Today went really well. We had a good idea of our performance from the test last week, and although the conditions have changed slightly since then, we were able to get an understanding of the set-up for the race, and I am happy with how the car felt.

"I missed a little time in the morning session when the team were fixing a small problem with my steering, but it didn't really make too much difference to our overall results."