1:27.905 from the Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc on Medium tyres meant the home crowd were cheering at the end of the first free practice session in Monza, as Belgian Grand Prix winner Charles Leclerc denied McLaren a one-two in a rain-affected first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.
The session began on a track which was wet enough for the first runners to use wet weather tyres, before switching to intermediates. However the conditions caught out several drivers and prompted some complaints about the tyres, notably from Max Verstappen, who described the lack of grip as “insane”.
Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to hit the barrier. His Alfa Romeo snapped sideways halfway around the Parabolica, and he struck the barrier rear-first. The red flags made their first appearance as Raikkonen climbed from his car.
The track continued to dry during the second half of the session. Bottas set the benchmark intermediate time with a 1’30.596, but in the final minutes a few drivers decided to risk runs on slicks. The Mercedes pair headed the times at this point, but with Lewis Hamilton stuck behind Sebastian Vettel at the end of the session, and Bottas spinning at the Rettifilio, they slipped down the order.
A flurry of fast times from the slick-shod drivers changed the final running order. Daniil Kvyat briefly went quickest, then Sainz moved to the top. The McLaren driver then lowered his best time by more than a second while Lando Norris moved up into third, raising the prospect of a rare Mclaren one-two.
Those hopes were dashed by Charles Leclerc, who after taking a while to bring his medium compound tyres in, produced the quickest time of the session with his last lap.
2019 FORMULA 1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
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1 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m27.905s
2 Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 0.306s
3 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 0.545s
4 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.825s
5 Alexander Albon THA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 1.120s
6 Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 2.055s
7 Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 2.195s
8 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 2.602s
9 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 2.691s
10 Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 2.790s
11 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 4.943s
12 Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 6.071s
13 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 6.623s
14 Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 6.810s
15 Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team + 7.228s
16 Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 8.075s
17 Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing + 9.911s
18 George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing + 10.516s
19 Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team no time
20 Kimi Raikkonen ITA Alfa Romeo Racing no time
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