Hamilton Leads Practice at the Italian Grand Prix While Antonelli Faces Challenges
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest pace for Mercedes during Friday’s practice sessions at the Italian Grand Prix, while his potential replacement, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, crashed in his debut with the team.
Hamilton edged out McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 0.003 seconds, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz clocking in third during the second session, followed closely by their teammates Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Championship leader Max Verstappen had a less impressive showing, finishing 13th after making a mistake in his qualifying simulation and running wide at Parabolica. However, he appeared competitive during the race simulation runs later, closely matching title rival Norris.
In the first session, Verstappen was the fastest driver by 0.228 seconds, setting a time on soft tires, with Leclerc following on medium tires. Norris secured third place, just ahead of Ferrari’s Sainz.
Norris, who is trailing Verstappen by 70 points in the championship, believes all four top teams will be in contention for victory this weekend. “The car was quick,” Norris commented. “Oscar was fast too, but he made a big mistake and lost around 0.4 or 0.5 seconds. He easily should have been P1. I have some catching up to do.”
“It’s tightly contested among Ferrari, us, Red Bull, and Mercedes. It looks like eight cars are showing strong pace, which should make for an exciting race.”
A Challenging Debut for Antonelli
Andrea Antonelli, driving George Russell’s car in the first practice session, is expected to be named Russell’s teammate at Mercedes next year following Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. The 18-year-old began strong, posting the fastest time on his initial flying lap. However, while attempting to improve his time after Hamilton had beaten it by 0.6 seconds, Antonelli took too much speed into Parabolica and crashed heavily.
Fortunately, he was unharmed, but the car sustained significant damage and took nearly 25 minutes to be ready for Russell in the second session. Russell’s progress was further hampered when Kevin Magnussen crashed his Haas, resulting in a red flag for over 10 minutes. Despite the setbacks, Russell managed to finish the day sixth fastest after a run on soft tires.
Completing the top 10 were Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed sympathy for Antonelli, stating that the pressures of his debut in Monza might have overwhelmed him. “Clearly, with everything piling on him in Monza, it’s quite tough to handle. It could be a reason why he ended up in the wall,” Wolff commented. “He performed well in the laps we saw but pushed beyond the car’s limits.”
Antonelli, who will also race in Formula 2 this weekend, reflected on his crash, saying, “Unfortunately, it ended quite quickly. It was a significant impact, around 52Gs. I apologize to the team and George for making more work for them afterward. It was just a mistake on my part.”
Examining Team Form
Verstappen faced difficulties at his home race in Zandvoort last weekend, where he was outpaced by Norris, who delivered one of the season’s most commanding wins. However, at Monza, McLaren doesn’t seem to have the same edge over the competition, with the top four teams closely matched.
Hamilton noted that the new track modifications, including resurfacing and changes to the curbs, presented challenges. “It’s been a good day generally,” he said. “The new asphalt and new curbs pose a bit of a challenge. The car felt good initially, but we experienced significant tire graining, like many others.”
Verstappen, who was also running with his engine turned down to conceal his pace, said, “We tried various setups today, and while P2 wasn’t great, the long runs seemed more competitive. The newly resurfaced track is quite harsh on the tires, and it will be interesting to see how that affects the race.”
Looking ahead, Verstappen added, “I expect it will be a close contest among several cars, and hopefully, we can join that mix.”
What do you think will happen in the race with all this current competition?
