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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Philip Duncan

Lewis Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in opening practice at Italian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Grand Prix Monza
Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in first practice in Monza (David Davies/PA) - (PA Wire)

Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in opening practice on his Italian Grand Prix debut for Ferrari in Monza.

On Thursday, Hamilton described his opening campaign with the Scuderia as an “emotional rollercoaster”, and he will serve a five-place grid drop for this weekend’s race following a yellow-flag infringement at the previous round in the Netherlands.

The sanction will leave Hamilton facing an uphill struggle to end his wait for a Ferrari podium, but the Italian team’s pace in the first running of the weekend at the Temple of Speed will provide the seven-time world champion with serious hope.

Charles Leclerc finished second, 0.169 seconds behind Hamilton, with Ferrari the class of the field at their home event.

Carlos Sainz finished third for Williams, 0.533 sec adrift of Hamilton, with Max Verstappen fourth for Red Bull. Home favourite Kimi Antonelli took fifth place in his Mercedes, one spot clear of Lando Norris.

George Russell stopped on track with an engine failure in the closing moments to bring a premature end to the one-hour session.

Hamilton, 40, has endured a turbulent first year with Ferrari and arrived here after he crashed out of the Dutch Grand Prix.

At the final round before the summer break in Hungary, Hamilton described himself as “useless” and even urged Ferrari to replace him after he qualified 12th and finished in the same position.

Lewis Hamilton opening his weekend by setting the quickest time in first practice (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

But the British driver, out-qualified by team-mate Leclerc 11 times since he made the switch from Mercedes to the Italian giants, rolled back the years to top practice and lay down a marker for the remainder of the weekend.

Norris’ championship hopes were dealt a blow in Zandvoort when his engine packed up in the closing stages, and now trails Oscar Piastri by 34 points in the championship with nine rounds remaining.

The Briton took a trip through the gravel at the first Lesmos corner and finished nine tenths down on Hamilton.

Piastri watched from the sidelines as Irishman Alex Dunne was handed one of his allocated practice sessions. He finished 16th, 1.4 sec off the pace, with Piastri back in the McLaren cockpit later on Friday.

Second practice takes place at 1700 local time (1600 BST).

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