Lessons learnt in busy FP1 session at the Italian GP

Centred around gaining experience and gathering data, the opening FP1 session at the Italian Grand Prix left much unearthed as new tarmac, reprofiled corners and red flags ruled the hour session.

On a resurfaced Autodromo Nazionale Monza, a train of eager drivers rushed out of the pitlane to kickstart a busy session.

Appearing for one exploratory lap and sporting a huge aero rake, Oscar Piastri waited 30 minutes before setting his first timed lap.

Promoting himself into P10 with a 1:23.940s, Piastri was 1.5 seconds behind the benchmark, but after one more run, the interval had halved. 

Still on the medium compound, Piastri didn’t complete much running, instead focusing on gathering data around the reprofiled circuit.

In the final soft tyre stages of the session, however, the Australian jumped into the top four, just three-tenths back on the #16 Ferrari’s benchmark.

The #81 ended his session on the medium compound, completing his final tour of the Temple of Speed with a thick coating of flow vis on the rear of his MCL38.

Piastri ended FP1 with the sixth fastest time of the session, looking ahead to FP2 in a few hours’ time. 

Also ending his session on the medium tyre was Daniel Ricciardo, who sat further down the order as the chequered flag was waved.

Watching on for the opening minutes of the session, the 2021 Italian Grand Prix winner set off for his first flying lap of the day.

Launching on the medium compound, Ricciardo set the tenth quickest time before the early Red Flag interruption hit. 

Rejoining the circuit and waving to the fans above, Ricciardo set off to better his time of 1:23.981s.

It wasn’t a quick task in the VCARB 01, with the Australian later moving up the order into P7 with a time of 1:22.605s.

That time remained his quickest of the midday session, leaving him a tenth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in P12 and P13, respectively.

Daniel Ricciardo in the Pitlane during first practice at the Italian Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Also with a spotlight on their sessions, Franco Colapinto and Kimi Antonelli both had a critical hour of running ahead of them.

But, with a snap of oversteer at the apex of Turn 11, Antonelli’s session ended a shattering 12 minutes into FP1. 

Flying across the gravel trap at Parabolica, his borrowed W15 found itself dishevelled in the barriers which prompted a Red Flag during the session. 

The heart-breaking crash in front of his home crowd came after the 18-year-old topped the tables with his first soft tyre run, remaining in the top four after the competition had all set their opening times. 

The youngster wasn’t alone in his struggles, with Max Verstappen, although to a lesser degree, also having issues on the new tarmac after messing up his first three attempts at Turn 1. 

Following the restart, however, Verstappen lit up the timing sheets on the soft compound tyre to end the hour at the complete other end of the spectrum compared to Antonelli.

In between Verstappen’s late move into P1 and the remainder of the session, there were mixed reviews from the experimental hour. 

Despite radio calls describing the SF-24 as “tricky to drive”, Charles Leclerc gave the home crowd something to cheer about on Day 1 of running in Monza.

As did Carlos Sainz, with the Ferrari driver kickstarting his 200th Grand Prix weekend and birthday weekend as the fastest driver on the straights, seven hundredths quicker than his teammate.

But while the usual suspects like Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren ran at the top of the order in the closing stages, the hour featured a few front-running surprises.

The Sauber cars were an unexpected addition to a consistent run in the top ten, with Zhou sitting around seventh for much of the hour as Valtteri Bottas set the benchmark in P1.

The Finnish driver’s top time was a 1:22.127s, leaving him momentarily untouchable in Monza.

Ending the session in P5, Bottas headed a positive first hour for the Sauber garage.

Alex Albon also ran comfortably within the top five times for the opening half of the session, holding onto P8 as the chequered flag was waved.

As for his new teammate, Franco Colapinto ran a smooth first session up until the final moments of FP1. 

Having a nervous slide through Turn 5 earlier in the session, the Parabolica claimed its next victim in the form of the Argentine driver. 

Unlike Antonelli, Colapinto managed to slow his car down to avoid becoming stuck in the gravel, seeing him return to the pitlane unharmed aside from some cosmetic damage. 

The rookie ended his first official day as an F1 driver in P17, 1.2 seconds off Verstappen’s benchmark.

It will be a busy few hours of debriefing in the Williams motorhome, with Colapinto, and indeed the entire grid with much to discuss and learn ahead of the upcoming FP2 session in Monza.

For now, however, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris will have an extra boost of confidence ahead of the late afternoon session after finishing within FP1’s top three times.

The second session of the day will kick off at a late 1:00 AM, AEST.

Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images

2024 Italian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, August 30th:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, August 31st:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, September 1st:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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