Mercedes lead Ferrari by a second in first practice

2017 Italian Grand Prix first practice

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Mercedes were comfortably quickest in a rain-affected first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.

Italian GP practice in pictures
Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark time of 1’21.537 on super-soft tyres was over a second quicker than any of the team’s rivals could manage.

He was backed up by team mate Valtteri Bottas in second place, though the pair were separated by almost half a second.

The Ferrari drivers were next, followed by the two Red Bulls and the Force India pair. Stoffel Vandoorne gave McLaren some encouragement by setting the ninth-fastest time, just ahead of Felipe Massa’s Williams.

The drivers took to the track early in the session due to the expectation of rain. However only a few light showers fell during the hour and a half of running, allowing most drivers to complete full programmes. More rain is expected before the afternoon session, however.

The slippery conditions caught several drivers out, many of which ran onto the run-off area at turn one. Hamilton also had a big lock-up at the Della Roggia chicane while Romain Grosjean went off at Ascari. Carlos Sainz Jnr’s car also swapped ends on him at the Parabolica.

Pos.No.DriverCarBest lapGapLaps
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’21.53728
277Valtteri BottasMercedes1’21.9720.43531
35Sebastian VettelFerrari1’22.6521.11524
47Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’22.6891.15228
53Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’22.7421.20528
633Max VerstappenRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’22.7491.21223
711Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’23.3171.78036
831Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1’23.4001.86334
92Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren-Honda1’23.4651.92824
1019Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’23.5612.02437
1155Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso-Renault1’23.6802.14322
1220Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1’23.9732.43622
1318Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1’23.9912.45430
1426Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’24.0122.47527
1514Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1’24.0152.47817
168Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1’24.0792.54222
1727Nico HulkenbergRenault1’24.5423.00517
1830Jolyon PalmerRenault1’25.1663.62921
1994Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1’25.2233.68626
209Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1’25.6874.15017

First practice visual gaps

Lewis Hamilton – 1’21.537

+0.435 Valtteri Bottas – 1’21.972

+1.115 Sebastian Vettel – 1’22.652

+1.152 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’22.689

+1.205 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’22.742

+1.212 Max Verstappen – 1’22.749

+1.780 Sergio Perez – 1’23.317

+1.863 Esteban Ocon – 1’23.400

+1.928 Stoffel Vandoorne – 1’23.465

+2.024 Felipe Massa – 1’23.561

+2.143 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’23.680

+2.436 Kevin Magnussen – 1’23.973

+2.454 Lance Stroll – 1’23.991

+2.475 Daniil Kvyat – 1’24.012

+2.478 Fernando Alonso – 1’24.015

+2.542 Romain Grosjean – 1’24.079

+3.005 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’24.542

+3.629 Jolyon Palmer – 1’25.166

+3.686 Pascal Wehrlein – 1’25.223

+4.150 Marcus Ericsson – 1’25.687

Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.

Drivers best times by tyre

DriverTeamBest super-soft timeSuper-soft gapBest soft timeSoft gapBest medium timeMedium gap
Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’21.5371’22.8610.7754’35.096188.726
Valtteri BottasMercedes1’21.9720.4351’22.0862’13.91347.543
Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1’22.7421.205None3’57.096150.726
Max VerstappenRed Bull1’22.7491.212None9’51.096504.726
Sebastian VettelFerrari1’22.6521.115None4’05.096158.726
Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’22.6891.152None3’54.096147.726
Sergio PerezForce India1’23.3171.781’23.4851.3995’42.096255.726
Esteban OconForce India1’23.4001.8631’23.8791.7935’59.096272.726
Felipe MassaWilliams1’23.5612.024NoneNone
Lance StrollWilliams1’23.9912.454NoneNone
Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1’24.0152.4781’27.0434.9574’11.096164.726
Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1’23.4651.928None4’25.096178.726
Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso1’23.6802.143None4’29.096182.726
Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1’24.0122.475None4’42.096195.726
Romain GrosjeanHaas1’24.0792.5421’24.8912.8054’17.096170.726
Kevin MagnussenHaas1’23.9732.4361’25.5213.4354’44.096197.726
Nico HulkenbergRenault1’24.5423.005None5’34.096247.726
Jolyon PalmerRenault1’25.1663.629None1’26.370
Marcus EricssonSauber1’25.6874.15None1’56.82630.456
Pascal WehrleinSauber1’25.2233.686None4’23.096176.726

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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36 comments on “Mercedes lead Ferrari by a second in first practice”

  1. “Ferrari is faster”
    Sure Mercedes, sure.

  2. That is what oil burn is worth in that Mercedes. And some more in Q3. There is really no point in watching the rest of the season is it?

    1. That is about correct. Has anyone anytime in F1 won on merit without “loopholes”? This is ridiculous.

    2. …because all of the remaining circuits are low drag and power sensitive like Monza is, and a rain affected FP1 is representative of the remainder of the season?

    3. let’s not jump to conclusions, as @sparkyamg rightly pointed out. Sure, it does seem like Mercedes are going to run away with it this weekend, however, in Singapore we might see a complete reversal, with possibly even redbulls having a go at the Mercs. Hamilton is likely to take the lead in the champ this race, unless something unexpected will happen, but then Vettel has all the chances to retake it in Singapore and even extend it. And then for the rest of the season it is likely to be nip and tuck between them. It can swing both ways.

    4. You do realise that Mercedes can no longer develop their engines for the rest of the season, and are locked into whatever performance currently available. Ferrari on the other hand can still find more power and introduce a new engine.
      All teams try and find loop holes Ferrari did so with their side pods and have a very efficient aero advantage. But no one is screaming about that.

      1. That’s not correct OOliver!
        Ferrari also introduced their 4th ICE/Turbo package (today at Monza).
        So both are in the same situation.
        Both can still introduce a new and improved ICE but will incur a grid penalty.

        1. Isn’t the whole idea behind introducing their engine at Spa to escape the oil burn limit knowing fully well any additional engine will incur a penalty?
          We both know they continue to develop their engines.
          Mercedes took a decision knowing they can run until the end of the year without introducing a new engine. So unless they suffer a failure, no new developed engine is going into their car. Ferrari missed the opportunity to introduce their new engine and escape the oil limit
          I didnt know Ferrari had introduced a new engine for this weekend.

        2. As far as I know, Ferrari has just introduced the 4th TC, not the 4th ICE. The plan is to introduce the 4th ICE in Malaysia.

          1. correct – my bad.
            I misread the table in the PU usage article (I saw Ferrari but was reading the Sauber row with Ferrari engine)

          2. Ferrari introduced their 4 TC long before the summer break, I believe they did so in Canada. They’ve not introduced no new PU parts this weekend.

    5. With sources suggesting that the latest Mercedes engine was worth 1/10 of a second around Spa, the 1.2L/km oil burn spec is going to be marginal part of that 1/10.

      Honestly, some of the comments around this topic are nonsensical.

      1. +1 @ju88sy

        People seem to read one thing on the oil burning and think they know everything. The way people complain is like Mercedes have an extra turbo.

    6. @geekracer2000

      It’s only FP1… so it’s a little too soon to gauge. I did expect Ferrari to lose some performance once the oil burning regulations were implemented. It was pretty obvious that Ferrari were bending the rules earlier.

    7. 70s loopholes were way better than some boring oil limit. Bring back 6-wheelers and giant fans on the back!

  3. I personally suppose that for the next 5years Mercedes gonna be the champion with the current engine and aero regulation in place. A serious of problems lie ahead of this management. They are never going to come out of this.

  4. The gap was not this big in any session this year, not lately any way. And it is intriguing that is comes just after merc are alowed to burn more oil then any other team, low drag or not.

    1. it was in Silverstone

    2. And it is intriguing that is comes just after merc are alowed to burn more oil then any other team

      Mercedes is not allowed to burn more oil then any other team. In fact, they are allowed to burn the same amount of oil as all the other teams. The only thing is, is that the new engines they used at Spa are still allowed to burn 1.2L while all other engines introduced from now on (even theirs if they have to use new ones!) are allowed to burn 0.9L.

      1. Isn’t 1.2 L more then 0.9L?

        1. Seems like you’re not understanding. Ferrari, Renault & Honda are all using 1.2L as they’ve not introduced a new PU. Mercedes aren’t doing anything illegal as they introduced their PU before the technical directive comes into play.

          They’re not exploiting a loophole nor are they cheating.

          By the way, they’ve already come out and said the PU used in Spa, complied with the 0.9L which was set for Monza.

    3. @geekracer2000 Vettel was just .8s faster than Vandoorne today. Conclusion, they were holding back massively.

      Of course that doesn’t mean that Mercedes aren’t the fastest and won’t win, but still, as long as the difference between a Ferrari and a McLaren is just that, I wouldn’t conclude anything from this one session.

      I still have Mercedes to win here, with Vettel a third place, but then after Singapore Vettel should be leading the championship again.

  5. Did Bottas make a mistake on his super-soft run? It’s strange he only improved by a tenth from his quickest lap on the softs (a 1:22.086 if Autosport are to be believed).

  6. We know, Ferrari is fast, but HAM is making a difference…

    1. And RBR is faster than Ferrari, but VET and RAI are making the difference to VER and RIC.

      1. And Renault is faster than McLaren but Stoffel is making the difference …
        And Williams is faster than Haas but Magnussen is making the difference …
        And I can go on and on making not so smart comparisons and present them as facts.

  7. All the hamilton was great at spa coments were wrong.in 2010 abu Dhabi Hamilton couldn’t pass a slower Renault that had 22 laps older tires.he wasn’t even close to passing it.
    I did’t eve expect such a big difference at monza .that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to be champion.

    1. 2010 Abu Dhabi Hamilton couldn’t pass a slower Renault that had 22 laps older tires.

      Really? Did that happen? Regardless, he ended up on the podium anyway along with button to flank the new WDC so it wasn’t bad.

      That and it’s Abu Dhabi. I mean, it wasn’t the drivers in P2,3,4,5’s fault that Spain 1981 wound up the way it did

    2. in 2010 abu Dhabi Hamilton couldn’t pass a slower Renault that had 22 laps older tires.he wasn’t even close to passing it.

      That sounds like Alonso…

    3. Yea and how did Alonso fair in his attempt to pass the sister Renault of Petrov?

  8. Nothing is certain till Q3. That is when we will know real pace. Even previous years when Mercedes were clearly quicker gap was not this big. So I think this is a bluff.

    1. I think, both Mercs and Ferrari will be even with new Ferrari engines. Mercs have better engine but stiff handling makes them difficult on kerbs while Ferrari will be overall good. There have been instances like Mclaren in 2007 (and RBR in 2011) where car with better handling but less power won, so its possible for Ferrari.

  9. Second best car, remember?

    1. FP1 remember ? At one of Mercedes strongest tracks remember ? Let’s see you say this after FP1 in Singapore…

  10. The behavior of the hamilton fans is ridiculous. If the advantage were received by the ferrari they would whine that its’s not fair, hypocrites. It was nice season, but FIA ruined it, nice work. FIA at it’s best!

  11. It is onky FP1, crazies. Wait till the race to see the true pace of the cars.

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