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.
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2024 F1 Championship Standings (as of March 24)
P | Driver | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 51 |
2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 47 |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 46 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 40 |
5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 28 |
6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 27 |
7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 18 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 16 |
9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 9 |
10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 8 |
11 | Oliver Bearman | Ferrari | 6 |
12 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 6 |
13 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 3 |
14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1 |
15 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 0 |
16 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 0 |
17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 0 |
18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 0 |
19 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | 0 |
20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 0 |
21 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | 0 |
P | Team | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 97 |
Poles: 3 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 2 | ||
2 | Scuderia Ferrari | 93 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 1 | ||
3 | McLaren F1 Team | 55 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
4 | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 26 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
5 | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 25 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
6 | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 6 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
7 | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 4 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
8 | Williams Racing | 0 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
9 | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 0 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
10 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 0 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 |
2024 MotoGP Championship Standings (as of March 24)
P | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | 60 |
2 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM | 42 |
3 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati Lenovo | 39 |
4 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo | 37 |
5 | Pedro Acosta | GASGAS Tech3 | 28 |
6 | Marc Marquez | Gresini Racing | 27 |
7 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing | 25 |
8 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | 19 |
9 | Jack Miller | Red Bull KTM | 16 |
10 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | 15 |
11 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha | 15 |
12 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Racing | 13 |
13 | Marco Bezzecchi | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | 12 |
14 | Miguel Oliveira | Trackhouse Racing | 8 |
15 | Joan Mir | Repsol Honda | 7 |
16 | Johann Zarco | LCR Honda Castrol | 5 |
17 | Augusto Fernandez | GASGAS Tech3 | 5 |
18 | Alex Rins | Monster Energy Yamaha | 3 |
19 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda Idemitsu | 2 |
20 | Franco Morbidelli | Pramac Racing | 0 |
21 | Luca Marini | Repsol Honda | 0 |
22 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse Racing | 0 |
P | Team | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Ducati Lenovo Team | 76 |
Poles: 1 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 1 | ||
2 | Prima Pramac Racing | 60 |
Poles: 1 Sprint wins: 1 GP wins: 1 | ||
3 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 58 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
4 | Aprilia Racing | 44 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 1 GP wins: 0 | ||
5 | Gresini Racing MotoGP | 40 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
6 | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 | 33 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
7 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 27 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
8 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | 18 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
9 | Trackhouse Racing | 8 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
10 | Repsol Honda Team | 7 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
11 | LCR Honda Team | 7 |
Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 |