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Schumacher Fastest In FP1 At Monza

German Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher has set the fastest time in the first free practice session at Monza in Italy. The multiple World Champion led the way as Belgian reserve driver Jérôme d’Ambrosio replaced Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who is not allowed to race this weekend after causing a massive pile-up in Belgium last time out, at Lotus. Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua made his debut for HRT while current Championship leader Fernando Alonso and Spanish GP winner Pastor Maldonado broke down in the closing stages.

Monza will host the last Grand Prix weekend held in Europe in 2012 before Formula 1 travels to Asia and America for the last seven races.

French Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne was first on-track, but all of the drivers were presented with a selection of challenges. Between the Ascari Chicane and Parabolica new tarmac has been laid and a number of leaves had fallen onto the racing line in the braking zone of the former.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who has been a subject of discussion this week, set the first lap time, almost six seconds slower than the 1:25.422 of Mercedes' Michael Schumacher as the circuit was yet to be rubbered in.

More than usual, braking and kerbs are the name of the day at Monza. A couple of drivers tested the limits at the first turn, not least Brazilian Ferrari driver Felipe Massa and his former Ferrari team mate Kimi Räikkönen, but only the Iceman dared to take an extremely tight line into second chicane the Roggia. Räikkönen experienced a high-flying moment which damaged the undertray of his Lotus.

In the last part of the first free practice session, Spanish Ferrari driver and current Championship leader Fernando Alonso pulled off at the Rettifilo with a suspected engine problem. Venezuelan Williams driver Pastor Maldonado stopped on the exit of the Roggia, with his FW34 getting stuck in second gear and with his DRS flap jammed open.

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, who knows Monza all too well, led the way from Belgian Grand Prix winner Jenson Button and his German Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. Both Ferrari's ended the session in fourth and fifth , with Fernando Alonso being the top Ferrari driver.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, whose future is still undecided, came in sixth in front of Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen, who came in seventh.

Mexican Sauber driver Sergio Perez, who hopes to have a better weekend than last weekend in Belgium when he had to retire from the race, finished the session in eighth ahead of Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber in ninth. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado completed the top ten.

Chuck and Eddie's

2024 F1 Championship Standings (as of March 24)

PDriverTeamPoints
1Max VerstappenRed Bull51
2Charles LeclercFerrari47
3Sergio PerezRed Bull46
4Carlos SainzFerrari40
5Oscar PiastriMcLaren28
6Lando NorrisMcLaren27
7George RussellMercedes18
8Fernando AlonsoAston Martin16
9Lance StrollAston Martin9
10Lewis HamiltonMercedes8
11Oliver BearmanFerrari6
12Yuki TsunodaRB6
13Nico HülkenbergHaas3
14Kevin MagnussenHaas1
15Alexander AlbonWilliams0
16Daniel RicciardoRB0
17Esteban OconAlpine0
18Pierre GaslyAlpine0
19Valtteri BottasKick Sauber0
20Logan SargeantWilliams0
21Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber0
PTeamPoints
1Oracle Red Bull Racing97
         Poles: 3       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 2
2Scuderia Ferrari93
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 1
3McLaren F1 Team55
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
4Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team26
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
5Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team25
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
6Visa Cash App RB F1 Team6
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
7MoneyGram Haas F1 Team4
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
8Williams Racing0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
9BWT Alpine F1 Team0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
10Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber0
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0

2024 MotoGP Championship Standings (as of March 24)

PRiderTeamPoints
1Jorge MartinPramac Racing60
2Brad BinderRed Bull KTM42
3Enea BastianiniDucati Lenovo39
4Francesco BagnaiaDucati Lenovo37
5Pedro AcostaGASGAS Tech328
6Marc MarquezGresini Racing27
7Aleix EspargaroAprilia Racing25
8Maverick ViñalesAprilia Racing19
9Jack MillerRed Bull KTM16
10Fabio Di GiannantonioPertamina Enduro VR4615
11Fabio QuartararoMonster Energy Yamaha15
12Alex MarquezGresini Racing13
13Marco BezzecchiPertamina Enduro VR4612
14Miguel OliveiraTrackhouse Racing8
15Joan MirRepsol Honda7
16Johann ZarcoLCR Honda Castrol5
17Augusto FernandezGASGAS Tech35
18Alex RinsMonster Energy Yamaha3
19Takaaki NakagamiLCR Honda Idemitsu2
20Franco MorbidelliPramac Racing0
21Luca MariniRepsol Honda0
22Raul FernandezTrackhouse Racing0
PTeamPoints
1Ducati Lenovo Team76
         Poles: 1       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 1
2Prima Pramac Racing60
         Poles: 1       Sprint wins: 1       GP wins: 1
3Red Bull KTM Factory Racing58
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
4Aprilia Racing44
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 1       GP wins: 0
5Gresini Racing MotoGP40
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
6Red Bull GASGAS Tech333
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
7Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team27
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
8Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP18
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
9Trackhouse Racing8
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
10Repsol Honda Team7
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0
11LCR Honda Team7
         Poles: 0       Sprint wins: 0       GP wins: 0