FP1 Highlights | 2022 Italian Grand Prix

First practice at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, and it was the home team lighting up the top of the timing tables, with Charles Leclerc taking the Scuderia bragging rights, the Monegasque with a time of 1'22.410. Teammate Carlos Sainz had a tricky moment at the Variante Ascari, but the Spaniards' best lap was just 0.077 slower than Leclerc's. For their home race, Ferrari are sporting a special livery Their usual scarlet Challengers emblazoned with a generous splash of yellow, and both drivers wearing bright canary-coloured overalls and helmets. This year also marks Monza's centenary. The famous circuit opened in 1922, with the second ever Italian Grand Prix held here in September of that year. Mercedes looked in good form, with George Russell P3 and Lewis Hamilton P4. However, Russell's session wasn't all plain sailing. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris got a bit racy at one point, the Dutchman closing in on the Briton, the McLaren driver unwilling to give way to the current Drivers' Championship leader. Alpine impressed in their first session in Italy, with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso putting in the best times of the midfield teams. Ocon's helmet for this weekend is a tribute to Michael Schumacher, the red lid adorned with the seven stars marking the F1 Legends' seven Drivers' Championships. Several drivers will suffer grid penalties this round, one being Hamilton, who's taken his fourth power unit of the season. Others include Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Yuki Tonoda's ten-place grid drop is due to the Alfa Tauri driver racking up five reprimands so far this year. His teammate Pierre Gasly was forced to take the escape road at the first chicane, with smoke visibly extruding from the back of the AT03. Mercedes reserve driver Nick de Vries sat in for Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin and had a hairy moment at Turn 8. That makes three teams the versatile Dutchman has subbed in for this season, having previously driven for Williams in Barcelona and the Silver Arrows in France. And there was a return to action for a former F1 driver in the shape of Antonio Giovinazzi, Mick Schumacher making way for the Italian to enjoy another drive in front of the Tifosi. So Leclerc quickest from Sainz, Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Ocon and Alonso, with Tsunoda P8 followed by Valtteri Bottas, another driver facing a grid drop for Sunday's Grand Prix, and Daniel Ricciardo, who just slipped into the top ten. Alex Albon, P11, then came Joe Guaineu, Gasly, Perez, Lance Stroll, Norris, Kevin Magnussen, Giovinazzi, de Vries and Nicolas Latifi.