Championship leader Max Verstappen clocked a time of one minute and 21.676 seconds.©AFP
Max Verstappen was fastest in the first free practice session of Friday’s Italian Grand Prix, edging out Charles Leclerc for the fastest time as he attempts to get his Formula 1 title defense back on track. championship leader Verstappen clocked one minute, 21.676 seconds and 0.228 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who is the main hope of the massed ranks of Ferrari fans at Monza. McLaren driver Lando Norris, Verstappen’s closest rival for the world title, was 0.241 seconds off the pace in third.
Norris trails the Drivers’ Championship by 70 points after a stunning victory at last weekend’s Dutch GP, the fifth race in a row not to be won by Red Bull’s Verstappen.
Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first-ever F1 drive ended quickly and spectacularly as he crashed off the track with just four laps completed under his belt.
The 18-year-old had the chance to drive George Russell’s car thanks to Mercedes, but he lost control at the Parabolica corner 10 minutes into the session and slammed into the trackside barriers, seriously damaging the front.
Antonelli apologized as he emerged apparently unscathed, and Mercedes called the incident “unfortunate but part of the learning curve”.
The Italian, who competes in the Formula 2 championship for Prema Racing, is believed to be one of the drivers in line to become Russell’s teammate when seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari at the end of the year.
He wasn’t the only driver to have problems at Parabolica as Carlos Sainz almost slipped and Franco Colapinto, another rookie who replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, hit the gravel at the same corner but managed to get his car back on track.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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