Italian GP – Free Practice 1: McLaren Takes the Lead
Hamilton and Button lead the two Red Bulls at the end of the first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix 2011. The McLarens seem to be the cars in form this weekend.
As announced, the sun is shining for this first free practice session. The drivers complete an installation lap before returning to their garages. After 10 minutes, no one has set a time.
Monza is an atypical track that requires minimal aerodynamic downforce. At Ferrari, they use yellow paint on the rear wing to analyze the airflow in that area.
It is the Belgian driver Jérôme D’Ambrosio who sets the pace by clocking the first fast lap in 1:44 before improving to 1:43.577 on the following lap.
Not much is happening in this first session because after 30 minutes, D’Ambrosio is still the only one to have set a time while Massa is observing everything from the Ferrari pit.
Although nothing happened during the first half-hour, things are getting serious. The drivers take turns at the top of the timesheet. Sebastian Vettel is on the track. The DRS provides an advantage of about 12 km/h at the end of the pit straight. The RB7 reaches 326 km/h before the first chicane. The world champion places 2nd behind Jaime Alguersuari.
Sébastien Buemi loses his Toro Rosso under braking at Ascari but can continue without trouble despite the presence of gravel at that part of the track. In the pits, Keke Rosberg watches it all from the Williams garage.
In the last part of the session, Heikki Kovalainen experiences gearbox problems while Michael Schumacher goes too wide in the Parabolica and returns to the pits. Problems also for D’Ambrosio 15 minutes before the end of this first practice session. The Virgin driver parks his car in the escape road of the first chicane.
The Mercedes cars that were predicted to have an advantage on this track seem to be struggling. Schumacher and Rosberg often exit too wide from the fast corners.
The session ends with the two McLarens in the top two positions. Lewis Hamilton leads Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel. Webber, Sutil, Petrov, Alonso, Massa, Pérez, and Alguersuari complete the top 10.
Results of Free Practice 1 of the Italian GP – Friday, September 9, 2011:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:23.865 | 18 | |
2 | Button | McLaren | 1:24.786 | +0.921 | 19 |
3 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1:25.231 | +1.366 | 25 |
4 | Webber | Red Bull | 1:25.459 | +1.594 | 24 |
5 | Sutil | Force India | 1:26.550 | +2.685 | 23 |
6 | Petrov | Lotus Renault GP | 1:26.625 | +2.760 | 20 |
7 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1:26.647 | +2.782 | 20 |
8 | Massa | Ferrari | 1:26.676 | +2.811 | 24 |
9 | Perez | Sauber | 1:26.694 | +2.829 | 28 |
10 | Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:26.696 | +2.831 | 15 |
11 | Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:26.699 | +2.834 | 21 |
12 | Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:26.826 | +2.961 | 21 |
13 | Barrichello | Williams | 1:26.836 | +2.971 | 25 |
14 | Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:26.996 | +3.131 | 29 |
15 | Maldonado | Williams | 1:27.365 | +3.500 | 25 |
16 | Senna | Lotus Renault GP | 1:27.385 | +3.520 | 23 |
17 | Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:27.433 | +3.568 | 25 |
18 | Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:27.492 | +3.627 | 24 |
19 | Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:29.539 | +5.674 | 10 |
20 | Chandhok | Team Lotus | 1:30.148 | +6.283 | 19 |
21 | Ricciardo | Hispania Racing Team | 1:30.609 | +6.744 | 27 |
22 | Liuzzi | Hispania Racing Team | 1:30.619 | +6.754 | 24 |
23 | Glock | Marussia Virgin | 1:31.052 | +7.187 | 12 |
24 | D’Ambrosio | Marussia Virgin | 1:31.899 | +8.034 | 22 |
