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The first and only practice before qualifying at Monza saw Lewis Hamilton finish fastest on medium tires for Mercedes, rival Max Verstappen second for Red Bull – almost half a second behind on soft tires.
With just two practice sessions this weekend as the F1 Sprint format returns for a second try, the drivers wereted no time getting on the track and it was Perez who set the benchmark on a new average tire set after 25 minutes. a new set of mediums with 16 minutes remaining with a lap of 1m20.926s, with runner-up Verstappen 0.452s behind on the soft tires.
F1 SPRINT: What to expect each day as the exciting format returns to Monza
Valtteri Bottas was third fastest for Mercedes – the Silver Arrows kept their soft tires for qualifying – having exclusively used midrange in FP1 alongside his teammate.
This left Lance Stroll fourth for Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly fifth and Stroll’s teammate Sebastian Vettel in P6.
|
1 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
1: 20.926 |
|
2 Max Verstappen TO CONCERN Red bull racing |
+ 0.452s |
|
3 Valtteri bottas BOT Mercedes |
+ 0.525s |
|
4 Spear To stroll STR Aston Martin |
+ 0.750s |
|
5 rock gaseous GAS AlphaTauri |
+ 0.793s |
Carlos Sainz finished seventh, 0.988 seconds behind Hamilton, for Ferrari and ahead of compatriot Fernando Alonso – who was one second behind P1 for Alpine in P8.
Daniel Ricciardo (with a lapse time removed) took ninth place for McLaren behind the Alpine driver, with these two teams forgoing medium tires in FP1. This allowed Sergio Perez to complete the top 10 for Red Bull, 1.113 seconds off the pace on the softs.
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Charles Leclerc, in 11th, and Lando Norris in 12th, were knocked out of the top 10 after also having late volleys for track boundary infractions. Norris’ effort on the mids could have put him in the top three.
Antonio Giovinazzi finished 13th for Alfa Romeo’s new look, his replacement teammate Robert Kubica finishing 16th with Kimi Raikkonen absent.
VISOR CAM: Get on board with George Russell in Monza
Yuki Tsunoda’s start to the race was interrupted by loose seat belts and a wheel-to-wheel brawl with Nikita Mazepin, but he recovered to finish 14th for AlphaTauri, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
George Russell wore a helmet-mounted camera to give us a first-person view of his pace in the Williams, with the Mercedes-linked driver finishing 17th in FP1 having spent much of the session on the tough guys. His teammate Nicholas Latifi finished 18th, leaving the pair Haas Mazepin (19th) and Mick Schumacher (20th) to complete the standings.
READ MORE: After a glut of driver news, it’s time to focus on racing – but will F1 Sprint turn the title fight at Monza upside down?
The action is intense and quick with qualifying, which will set the grid for Saturday’s sprint at 6:00 p.m. local time. Who will win the Pirelli Speed King Award at Monza? Stay tuned to F1.com to find out …
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