A new race weekend begins, this time with free practice sessions 1 and 2 for the Italian F1 GP 2019. With the presence of Fernando Alonso, who has been seen in the paddock along with McLaren. He has come with the team, and this is symbolic since he has not been seen with the Woking team since the Indy 500 disaster. Some rumors pointed to a breakup between the two, but it seems that is not the case. As Zak Brawn said, he still belongs to the family... Also, when asked about a possible return in 2021, he has said that he always negotiates with a team to return and that perhaps F1 2021 could be a good opportunity to do so. He likes the new technical rules, but he says that 22 races is too many for his liking.
Regardless of the presence of Fernando Alonso, who always causes a stir wherever he goes, free practice has been threatened by rain. very high chances of rain up to 80%. But that hasn't bothered Ferrari to lead the timesheets again in front of his fans. However, the differences have been smaller between Mercedes and Ferrari than seen in Spa. Also, in the race simulations, it looks like Mercedes has it a bit better than Ferrari, without both really showing their cards. Will it be as easy as in Belgium to take pole position and win against the tifosi? It seems that they are not so superior here.
By the way, despite the drizzle, the teams were able to run on an intermediate tire and then on a dry tire without any problems and not lose too much time. But that does not mean that there are not still many unknowns to clear up tomorrow. The one that seems to have more unknowns due to today's temperature and the problems with the power unit is McLaren. He is also very concerned about the power of the Renault engine as in Spa. It does not seem that the problems have been resolved here and we will see if this situation does not reverse the position between the Renault team and McLaren in the constructors' points and ends with a tense relationship between the two...
Carlos himself said that Ferrari takes them 8 tenths in two straights because of the difference in power, and that's a whole world. By the way, do not deceive the times of the unusual grid that has left free practice 1, with Carlos and Lando in 2nd and 3rd position after Charles Leclerc. Then in the second, everything was more normal and they were out of the Top 10 due to those problems. And again Renault ahead. I repeat, if this does not change in the next few races and it is only due to the special low-load characteristics at Spa and Monza, there is likely to be a Renault vs McLaren soap opera.
Free practice results 1
| #8211; | #8211; | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Piloto | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'27 "905 |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 1'28 "211 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1'28 "450 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'28 "730 |
| 5 | Alexander albon | Red Bull | 1'29 "025 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1'29 "960 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1'30 "100 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1'30 "507 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1'30 "596 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1'30 "695 |
| 11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Clean | 1'32 "848 |
| 12 | Lance stroll | Racing Point | 1'33 "976 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1'34 "528 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1'34 "715 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1'35 "133 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1'35 "980 |
| 17 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1'37 "816 |
| 18 | George Russell | Williams | 1'38 "421 |
| 19 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point | — |
| 20 | Kimi Räikkönen | Clean | — |
Free practice results 2
| #8211; | #8211; | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Piloto | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'20 "978 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'21 "046 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1'21 "179 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1'21 "347 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1'21 "350 |
| 6 | Alexander albon | Red Bull | 1'21 "589 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1'22 "124 |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1'22 "153 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1'22 "249 |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1'22 "260 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1'22 "338 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 1'22 "482 |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1'22 "511 |
| 14 | Kimi Räikkönen | Clean | 1'22 "523 |
| 15 | Lance stroll | Racing Point | 1'22 "706 |
| 16 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point | 1'22 "882 |
| 17 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Clean | 1'23 "065 |
| 18 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1'23 "561 |
| 19 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1'23 "737 |
| 20 | George Russell | Williams | 1'24 "313 |
Tomorrow more with the summary of the free practice session 3, where the details will be finalized before the classification. It will be interesting to see who takes pole here. Ferrari needs to repeat the Spa, but if Mercedes manages to stay ahead or overtakes them in the race it could be a tough blow against the tifosi. And Maranello's morale, especially Vettel's, are not for that...