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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Summary
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We'll take a quick breather now but make sure to follow this link later for FP2, with the coverage beginning shortly before the session begins at 1600 BST.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/live-text/f1-italian-gp-live-commentary-and-updates-fp2/1122940/
In case you missed any the action, here is the full recap of FP1.
A very tardy practice start from Verstappen as he completely bogs down and drops into anti-stall.
But of those with representative running, Hulkenberg was the slowest man, with Ocon just ahead.
Unsurprisingly, Antonelli is the slowest driver following his early exit.
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.
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.
It looks like Colapinto has had an off on his final lap with the car covered in flo-vis paint.
The chequered flag falls and Hulkenberg is the first driver to take it.
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.
As the session nears an end, what are the takeaways? Firstly, there appears to be very little to separate Verstappen, Ferrari and McLaren.
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.
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.
Into the closing stages now and we're seeing drivers running almost exclusively the soft compound now.
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."
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.
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.
"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"
Hold the phone! Bottas is back to P1 with a 1m22.127s. A Friday special effort or something more representative?
Drivers are currently being fairly respectful in keeping off the line when on a recharge lap. Expect that to change as the weekend progresses.
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.
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.
With a mix of soft and medium tyres on show, Bottas has gone to the top with a 1m22.416s on softs.
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.
Verstappen leads the field out again as the track goes green.
The session will resume in a few seconds at 1353 local time.
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.
“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
Antonelli: "I'm sorry."
Wolff: "Kimi, all good. All good Kimi."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fastest for Antonelli, as Hamilton slots into second. A 1m23.955s for the Italian.
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.
The lights are green and the FP1 is go!
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.
By: Haydn Cobb
