2016 F1 Round 14 Italian Grand Prix FP1 – Rosberg leads Mercedes one-two at Monza

The Italian Grand Prix weekend began at Monza on Friday, with Ferrari bringing an upgraded power unit to practice for its home race. Mercedes quickly established a lead in the opening session, while both Ferraris were initially more than a second behind.

Reference image: Monza circuit layout for the 2016 Italian Grand Prix

Rosberg led the timesheets, with Hamilton 0.203 seconds behind in second. Mercedes occupied the top of the order as Ferrari tried to validate the upgrade at its home event.

Vettel and Räikkönen featured near the front, while Pérez, Grosjean and Bottas also showed pace in the opening session. The midfield runners used Monza’s long straights to narrow the lap-time deficit.

Ferrari used an upgraded engine for its home event. Räikkönen was told to limit his mileage and completed the session with 16 laps, while Vettel covered 17.

Bottas ended practice seventh, with Massa 14th. Verstappen was the faster Red Bull driver in eighth, while Ricciardo was tenth.

Pérez was fifth and Grosjean sixth, ahead of Williams driver Bottas. Gutiérrez took ninth, putting both Haas cars in the top ten.

Force India test driver Alfonso Celis replaced Hülkenberg for the session and finished 12th. McLaren’s two race drivers were 11th and 13th, and Alonso also had his car stuck in gear late in the session.

Wehrlein’s DRS failed late in the session, and the two Manor drivers ultimately finished 18th and 20th. Rosberg topped first practice, with Hamilton just 0.203 seconds behind.