Max seventh in wet Monza FP1

Published on 06 September 2019 by Stefan Meens

The opening practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza took place on a damp but drying track. It meant slick tyres were only used in the closing stages of practice. Ferrari set the pace with Charles Leclerc, followed by his team mate Sebastian Vettel. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen completed only eleven laps with his quickest effort resulting in P7.

At the start of the session, the track is fully wet. Apart from a few installation laps on full wet weather Pirellis, most drivers hit the circuit with the green-walled intermediate tyre.

Throughout the session drivers go wide or spin in the treacherous, slippery conditions. Most incidents are minor, with Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez forming the exceptions. The former goes wide at Parabolica resulting in a trip through the gravel traps that ends with an Alfa Romeo in the tyre wall. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez crashed his Racing Point on the exit of the high-speed Ascari chicane. The Mexican is unharmed but his car is heavily damaged.

Both crashes force a temporarily red flag to clear the track and remove the stricken cars before resuming the session which is stopped once more. This time Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly is the cause after spinning and stalling on the kerbs.

As the track dries, the lap times improve. Once they dip below the 1:30s, Ferrari is the first team to switch to slick Pirellis. Soon, the other teams follow as the drivers are keen to get some dry track time.

In the end, Charles Leclerc is quickest (1:27.905) in his Ferrari. Max finishes in P7, two tenths down on Leclerc’s effort. Although there is no rain predicted for the remainder of Friday and throughout Saturday, there is a chance the wet/damp experience of today can be used on Sunday when there is a threat of rain.

Italian GP contest: win a signed orange Max driver cap and 1:43 scale model!

Results first free practice Italy: