Italian GP: Kimi Antonelli crashes out on Mercedes F1 debut as Verstappen fires first shot

Kimi Antonelli’s crashed Mercedes on a flatbed truck

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in the opening practice session for the Italian Grand Prix but it was Kimi Antonelli’s F1 debut, P1 opening lap time and subsequent crash that dominated headlines.

Verstappen put in a late lap to set the pace with a 1:21.676, putting him 0.228s up on Charles Leclerc while Lando Norris was a further 0.013s down in third place.

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in Monza’s FP1

Round 16 of F1 2024 may have marked the official Formula 1 debut for new Williams signing Franco Colapinto, who has replaced the beleaguered Logan Sargeant, but it was Mercedes’ protege Kimi Antonelli who grabbed the attention as he put in his first laps on motor racing’s centre stage.

Antonelli replaced George Russell for the session, covering one of Mercedes’ mandatory young driver outings with speculation he could be announced as a 2025 Mercedes driver before the weekend is out.

He was one of the first out of the pits with all but two drivers on track within the first two minutes as they experienced the resurfaced Monza track with its flattened kerbs for the first time.

Antonelli went straight up into P1 on his very first lap, a 1:23.9 that put him four-tenths up on Lando Norris. Max Verstappen meanwhile started with a trip around the Turn One bollards while Carlos Sainz experienced the new gravel strip at the chicane.

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Lewis Hamilton made it a Mercedes 1-2 as he pipped Antonelli before Norris jumped up to second place. And then it went horribly wrong for Antonelli…

11 minutes into the session and having just gone purple in the middle sector, the Italian lost the rear of the W15 leading to a high-speed spin and a hard hit into the barrier at Parabolica that brought out the red flag.

Breathing heavily, Mercedes asked if he was okay with the driver apologising for the crash. Toto Wolff was quick to respond: “Kimi, all good. All good Kimi.”

The session resumed 12 minutes later after the Mercedes was returned to the garage on a flatbed truck, one mechanic walking down the pit lane with the destroyed front wing.

As the drivers laid down the laps with many of them having moments over the new flatter chicane kerbs and the gravel, unexpected names popped up in P1 in Alex Albon and then Valtteri Bottas who lowered the benchmark time to a 1:22.1.

But it was all change in the final 10 minutes as drivers bolted on new tyres with Max Verstappen putting in a late lap to go quickest with a 1:21.676, putting him 0.228s up on Charles Leclerc in the upgraded Ferrari while Norris was a further 0.013s down in third place.

As for Colapinto, the Williams rookie was P17 and seven-tenths down on Albon’s best. But more importantly for Williams, he wasn’t in the barrier – although he did have a late moment through the gravel.

Times

1 Max VERSTAPPEN 1:21.676
2 Charles LECLERC +0.228
3 Lando NORRIS +0.241
4 Carlos SAINZ +0.450
5 Valtteri BOTTAS +0.451
6 Oscar PIASTRI +0.523
7 Lewis HAMILTON +0.538
8 Alexander ALBON +0.544
9 Sergio PEREZ +0.635
10 Fernando ALONSO +0.639
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +0.896
12 Daniel RICCIARDO +0.929
13 Yuki TSUNODA +1.038
14 Pierre GASLY +1.087
15 Guanyu ZHOU +1.178
16 Lance STROLL +1.188
17 Franco COLAPINTO +1.204
18 Esteban OCON+1.204
19 Nico HULKENBERG +1.481
20 Andrea Kimi ANTONELLI +2.279

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