FP1: Rosberg sets the pace at Monza
Nico Rosberg posted a 1:22.959 to beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the first P1 of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, while Kimi Raikkonen was third.
As with Spa last weekend, Friday’s practice began with a spate of Halo runs as Jenson Button, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen all trialed the device. However, only Button opted for more than one lap.
He set his first time of the day, a 1:28.922, with Halo attached before heading back into the pits having been told the “data is good” by McLaren.
The opening 30 minutes of FP1 saw the Mercedes drivers trade fastest lap times on the prototype Pirelli soft tyres, and they picked up where they left off when they swapped to the supersofts.
The first drivers to make the change, Mercedes held the 1-2 comfortably with both Hamilton and Rosberg putting in a faster second flying lap on the supersofts.
Hamilton hit the front with a 1:23.643, a mere 0.008s faster than Rosberg.
Returning to the soft tyres – this time the real deal, not the prototypes – Rosberg grabbed P1 off his team-mate with a 1:22.959. Hamilton was 0.203s off the pace.
Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari, just ahead of his team-mate Sebastian Vettel. The Scuderia drivers were 1.088s and 1.349s off the pace respectively.
Perez was fifth for Force India as he finished ahead of Romain Grosjean, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. Perez and Grosjean’s times was set on the supersoft tyres.
Fernando Alonso had an early end to his practice as he was told to return to the pits “slowly” after encountering a gearbox problem. He was P13.
A turbo issue cost Felipe Massa track-time at his final Italian Grand Prix weekend. He covered 18 laps and finished 14th fastest.
Times
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’22.959 37 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’23.162 0.203 36 laps
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1’24.047 1.088 16 laps
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’24.307 1.348 17 laps
5 Sergio Perez Force India 1’24.650 1.691 32 laps
6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’24.763 1.804 17 laps
7 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1’24.785 1.826 37 laps
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1’24.982 2.023 25 laps
9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1’25.113 2.154 19 laps
10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1’25.120 2.161 17 laps
11 Jenson Button McLaren 1’25.351 2.392 23 laps
12 Alfonso Celis Jr. Force India 1’25.367 2.408 30 laps
13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1’25.507 2.548 14 laps
14 Felipe Massa Williams 1’25.840 2.881 18 laps
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1’25.853 2.894 20 laps
16 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1’25.973 3.014 20 laps
17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1’26.074 3.115 20 laps
18 Esteban Ocon Manor 1’26.391 3.432 30 laps
19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1’26.439 3.480 21 laps
20 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1’26.762 3.803 28 laps
21 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1’26.811 3.852 35 laps
22 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1’26.956 3.997 32 laps