Free 1: Michael Schumacher fastest in opening practice at Monza

Michael Schumacher has ended the opening practice session fastest ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix around the historic Monza circuit, ahead of the McLaren of Jenson Button. The second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg came home third, roughly three tenths off the pace.

Jean-Eric Vergne was the first driver to take to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, as the session got underway in superlative weather conditions. Several reserve drivers once again got behind the wheel of their respective cars, with Ma Qing Hua [HRT], Jules Bianchi [Force India] and Valtteri Bottas [Williams] all replacing their respective team-mates for the opening session. In traditional practice fashion, the majority of the drivers completed installation laps to begin with, however Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa set early times with the latter going quickest with a 01:28.370.

Kimi Raikkonen and Ma Qing Hua made minor mistakes upon entering turn 1 as they began their respective flying laps, both bumping over the precarious “sausage” kerbs and subsequently ruining their opening laps. The Finn then stormed to the top of the timing sheets, with a 01:28.175, a time which he was able to better a lap later with a 01:27.369. Lewis Hamilton then returned to the top, with the Briton submerged in speculation over his future in Formula 1. The 2008 World Champion set three consecutive fastest laps, with a time of a 01:26.326 keeping the Briton atop the timing sheets.

Local favorite Fernando Alonso then breezed to the top of the timing sheets, with a 01:26.072 undoubtedly pleasing the many Tifosi devotees already lining the circuit. Jules Bianchi, standing in for Paul di Resta during the opening session, ran straight on at turns 4 and 5, making a slight mistake up the entry to the chicane. With many drivers up and down the grid making similar errors, such as Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg at turn 1, Michael Schumacher rose to the top with a 01:25.422 in his Mercedes. The German driver won all of his Italian Grands Prix with Ferrari, and is still warmly welcomed by the fanatical Tifosi masses.

Jenson Button, who majestically won last time out in Belgium, was 2nd behind the German, as his mechanics carried out a front-right camber change on the Briton’s McLaren. Whether or not this alteration had improved the handling of the car remained questionable, as Jenson Button locked up heading into turns 4 and 5 and ran wide through the tarmac run-off area.

Michael Schumacher remained top as the session entered it’s closing stages, with many drivers still pushing to the limits, especially through turns 1, 2, 4 and 5. Fernando Alonso then raised many eyebrows throughout the paddock as the Championship leader came to an abrupt halt at turn 1. The Spaniard then removed himself from the car, with the tail-tail signs of a mechanical issue on the car. Pastor Maldonado then became the next victim of the mechanical gremlins, as he too came to a halt on the exit of turn 5. Early reports indicate that Alonso could have suffered an engine related issue, whereas Maldonado seems to have suffered a hydraulic issue.

With yellow flags fluttering due to the stopped Ferrari and Williams cars’, no-one was able to dethrone the 7-time World Champion of Michael Schumacher, who’s earlier time kept him atop the timing sheets. F1 returnee Jerome D’Ambrosio ended his first session in the Lotus E20 15th overall, +1.758 seconds off the pace. The HRT of Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua brought up the rear, ending his first ever session in F1 24th, +5.817 seconds off Schumacher’s pace.

The F1 drivers will return to the Monza circuit later this afternoon, as the grid prepare for Sunday’s 53-lap Italian Grand Prix. Bruno Senna, Paul di Resta and Narain Karthikeyan will make a return, after sitting out the opening session to allow their respective reserve drivers an opportunity to test their cars’.

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