Andrea Kimi Antonelli dramatically crashed out on his F1 practice debut for Mercedes as Max Verstappen was fastest in the opening session at the Italian Grand Prix.
Italian teenager Antonelli, who is expected to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for 2025, was driving George Russell’s car and there was huge anticipation about his first official F1 appearance.
But just 10 minutes into the session, he lost control of his car at the final corner on the high-speed Monza circuit.
Antonelli hit the barriers hard as his car spun nearly 360 degrees into the tyre wall, with Mercedes facing a race to get everything fixed for second practice at 4pm on Friday – live on Sky Sports F1.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff immediately told the 18-year-old “it’s all good” on the radio after his accident, with Antonelli later cleared from the medical centre.
“That is not how he would have wanted to have the first 12 minutes of his F1 career go,” reacted Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
“He started to turn in and then just gets a massive snap of oversteer at the apex. I wonder if he got a gust of wind or something like that.
“It’s tough. I’ve had a shunt as a reserve driver and you feel the pain, you feel the embarrassment, you feel like you’ve let the team down.
“I think psychologically that will be a bit of a kick. I think he’s going to have a couple more goes, probably Mexico and Abu Dhabi. But there’s not many races left where we haven’t got a Sprint or it’s not a street track, so it’s a tough one for him.”
Verstappen starts weekend well
Championship leader Verstappen made a strong start to the Italian Grand Prix weekend as he was two tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc in the upgraded Ferrari.
Having lost the Dutch Grand Prix to Lando Norris by nearly 23 seconds just five days ago, Red Bull look much better on the newly resurfaced Monza, which has seen some of the kerbs flattened out.
Red Bull have struggled with bumps and kerbs, so the track changes may help their car as Verstappen looks to stop Norris from eating into his 70-point lead in the driver standings.
Norris was 0.241s behind Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz in fourth and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas surprisingly in fifth.
Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz provides an update on big upgrades on the Ferrari from the Italian Grand Prix pit lane as they search for victory in their home race.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished the session in sixth from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Williams’ Alex Albon, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton is competing in his final Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes before he joins Ferrari next year and admitted on Thursday that he’s felt different coming into the weekend.
Williams’ Franco Colapinto was 17th in his first session since replacing Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season. Colapinto had a clean first practice until the very end, when he ran through the gravel at the final corner but avoided the wall.
James Vowles says letting Logan Sargeant go was one of the toughest decisions he’s had to make.
Sky Sports F1’s live Italian GP schedule
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Italian Grand Prix.
Friday August 30
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Italian GP Practice Two (session starts 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday August 31
8.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Italian GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Italian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: ITALIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 1
7:30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up
2pm: The ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2024 Formula 1 season continues with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
