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Italian GP FP1: Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 at Monza

Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Valtteri Bottas to the fastest time in first practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza

Hamilton clocked a 1m21.537s on the super-soft Pirelli tyres to finish 0.435 seconds clear of Bottas, with Ferrari's championship leader Sebastian Vettel 1.115s off the pace in third.

With the threat of rain looming, drivers headed out early in FP1 in order to maximise the dry but cool conditions.

Bottas led the way after the opening half an hour, the Finn clocking a 1m22.086s on the soft tyres.

Mercedes then switched to the super-softs, with Hamilton jumping to the top of the timesheets with a 1m21.868s.

The three-time world champion completed a flurry of laps on that compound, improving to a 1m21.729s and then a 1m21.537s before pitting.

Light rain eventually came with around 15 minutes of the session to go, with race control reporting the track was slippery in sector two, and everyone retreated back to the pits.

The Ferraris then headed out on super-softs, completing a practice starts at the end of the pitlane, before coasting around and returning to the pits.

The rain then eased, allowing another burst of laps in the final minutes of the session.

Kimi Raikkonen ended up fourth quickest, a fraction behind team-mate Vettel, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen a tenth further back in fifth and sixth respectively.

Ricciardo and Verstappen are set for a tough weekend after Red Bull chose to change Renault engine components ahead of the session, meaning they will take 20 and 15-place grid penalties respectively.

Sergio Perez pipped Force India team-mate Esteban Ocon to seventh while Stoffel Vandoorne was the highest placed McLaren in ninth with team-mate Fernando Alonso 15th.

Honda fitted an upgraded power unit, known as 'spec 3.7', to Alonso's car for first practice, sparking a 35-place grid penalty for Sunday's race.

The Spaniard then ended the session early so Honda could switch back to an older spec unit - the one Alonso raced at Spa - for the remainder of the weekend.

Honda wanted to use the session to test performance, but save mileage on the engine for Singapore, as it feels a good result is possible at the next race.

Felipe Massa completed the top 10, two seconds off the pace, but nearly half a second quicker than Williams team-mate Lance Stroll.

With rain expected, Haas changed plans and stood down Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi to allow Kevin Magnussen to get running in dry conditions.

It is expected Giovinazzi will get an opportunity to drive in FP1 in Singapore instead.

FP1 times

Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m21.537s - 28
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m21.972s 0.435s 31
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m22.652s 1.115s 24
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m22.689s 1.152s 28
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m22.742s 1.205s 28
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault 1m22.749s 1.212s 23
7 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m23.317s 1.780s 36
8 Esteban Ocon Force India/Mercedes 1m23.400s 1.863s 34
9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren/Honda 1m23.465s 1.928s 24
10 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m23.561s 2.024s 37
11 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso/Renault 1m23.680s 2.143s 22
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1m23.973s 2.436s 22
13 Lance Stroll Williams/Mercedes 1m23.991s 2.454s 30
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Renault 1m24.012s 2.475s 27
15 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m24.015s 2.478s 17
16 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m24.079s 2.542s 22
17 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m24.542s 3.005s 17
18 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m25.166s 3.629s 21
19 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber/Ferrari 1m25.223s 3.686s 26
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m25.687s 4.150s 17


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