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The two Mercedes do not seem to fear the opponents at Monza: in the first free practice session of the Italian GP Valtteri Bottas was the fastest on soft tires (C4 compound) with a time of 1’20 “702. The W11 showed a clear superiority also in the experiments to understand how to exploit the power unit after the ban on the use of “party mode”, that is, extreme mapping for qualification (Strat-2).
The Finn wanted to give a signal to Brackley’s team not to sleep after the renewal of the contract awarded by Ola Kallenius. Lewis Hamilton was 245 thousandths behind his teammate, but the two black arrows were the only ones that immediately went through the 1’21 “wall.
The former champion has looked for the points where he is able to improve his performance, also finishing long to seek the limits when braking. Third is a surprise: Alexander Albon with Red Bull capable of 1’21 “500, almost eight tenths behind the Mercedes.
It is no wonder that the Anglo-Thai is ahead of his “captain”, but Max Verstappen has gone off the track at the exit of the Ascari Variation. The Dutchman lost control of Red Bull due to heavy oversteer in the chicane phase. The RB16 spun at high speed before crashing into the sand and hitting barriers on the outside with its nose popping out on impact.
The race management promptly raised the red flag to interrupt the session, but Max was good at coming off the escape route to return to the pits under his own power, reducing the interruption time. The Dutchman got back behind the wheel of the RB16 after 22 minutes, but was not impressed by his RB16 working on the set-up, especially at heights.
Verstappen finished fifth at 938 thousandths behind the Mercedes, and was also preceded by Daniil Kvyat surprisingly fourth in the AlphaTaur – the Russian finished 55 thousandths behind Albon’s Red Bull on medium tires, while Pierre Gasly is sixth at 26 thousandths. from Max: the French did not prevent a turn in the Channel. The data that emerges is that the Honda engine is powered on the long straights of the Stradale.
Ferrari seems to continue the agony that began in Spa: Leclerc is 11th with the SF1000 heavily drained: Rossa pays Bottas 1 “2 on medium tires. The gap is worrisome, but also the fact that there are too many cars in front: Red Bull , AlphaTauri, Racing Point, McLaren and Renault in addition to Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel struggles, even penultimate: the German is one second behind the Monegasque, a gap that is not justified in the “temple of speed.” Seb was also preceded by Roy Nissany who took over the Williams thrown by George Russell: the Israeli made a good impression with the 18th time, as he was nevertheless ahead of Nicolas Latifi.
The top ten sees Sergio Pérez seventh with Racing Point: more was expected from RP20, but for example Lance Stroll did not pass 13th place.
Lando Norris is eighth with the newly fitted McLaren with the flow diverter seen at Spa only in free practice, while Daniel Ricciardo is ninth with the Renault: the Australian has ridden the third engine of the season to have a new unit in the long straights of the road.
Carlos Sainz is tenth with the other MCL35. Esteban Ocon did not shine with the second RS20 only 12th.
The Haas are struggling with Romain Grosjean 14th and Kevin Magnussen 15th: the Frenchman seemed to be in a crisis when braking, with frequent crashes during the most violent stops. The American cars were ahead of the Alfa Romeos, with the same engine as the Ferrari customers. Antonio Giovinazzi is 16th in the C39 ahead of Kimi Raikkonen: he started well to cancel the Belgium explosion …
