***Editors note: RacerViews coverage of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship will be delayed due to coverage of the WEC Lone Star LeMans at Circuit of the Americas***

First practice in Monza kicked off Friday afternoon as Max Verstappen led the time sheets from Charles LeClerc and Lando Norris as Mercedes Junior and 2025 signee Kimi Antonelli crashes out on his debut outing for the Silver Arrows.

HIGHLIGHTS: Catch the action from FP1 at Monza as Verstappen goes fastest while rookie Antonelli crashes out

While he wasn’t the only rookie of the session, Antonelli made the most headlines as the Italian driver spun in the Parabolica on his 2nd lap, damaging George Russell’s car in the process and forcing his session to end early. Despite the hard impact into the outside wall, Antonelli was able to walk aware as Mercedes team boss – Toto Wolff – praised the young driver for his pace and assured him that everything was “all good” as red flags flew and recovery vehicles entered the circuit to remove the damaged W15.

Meanwhile, making his debut as well, Williams’s Franco Colapinto took to the track for the first time after replacing Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season. With little time in an F1 car to this point, Colapinto focused on lap consistency and settled in near the rear of the pack, staying out of trouble and working on becoming comfortable with the Williams chassis

With the importance of a home win at hand, Ferrari entered the weekend with a slew of upgrades as LeClerc finished his session 2nd quickest after being usurped by Verstappen in the final minutes of the session. As both teams hunt for pace to compete with the ever threatening McLaren team, Ferrari is looking for a home win to turn the tides as the recent run of poor form took them largely out of the constructors championship.

Carlos Sainz ended his session 4th ahead of Valtteri Bottas in 5th, an impressive showing for the Kick Sauber squad, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended the day 6th quickest. Lewis Hamilton ended seventh as the sole runner for Mercedes after Antonelli’s crash and was followed by Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

With the session over, drivers will look for a strong second practice as Mercedes have their hand full rebuilding Russell’s W15, tune in at 17:00 local time for the start of FP2 in Monza.

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2024 Schedule

Free Practice 1 Results