Italian Grand Prix: Kimi Antonelli crashes as Max Verstappen tops FP1

Antonelli, who turned 18 just five days ago, was thrust into Hamilton's team-mate George Russell's cockpit for the opening practice session of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

But the home favourite lost control of his Mercedes at the high-speed Parabolica, sliding backwards through the gravel and into the tyre barrier.

"Are you OK?" Antonelli was asked over the radio. "Are you OK?"

He replied with an expletive before apologising to his team. "Kimi, all good," assured team principal Toto Wolff. "All good, Kimi."

Antonelli emerged from his damaged Mercedes before he was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks. The crash registered at an eye-watering 45G.

Antonelli is expected to fill Ferrari-bound Hamilton's seat in 2025. An announcement had been expected here at his home event.

Speaking on Thursday, Hamilton, 39, warned against putting too much pressure on Antonelli.

"I said a long time ago that I think that's who the team should choose moving forwards," said the seven-time world champion. "He's one of those young, super-talented kids that's come through, he's a young adult now but he's only 18.

"But it would be good for people to remember he is just turning 18. It's an opportunity for him to grow. (At Mercedes) he would get to work with the best in class, learn from people that I've worked with for many years. It is a lot of weight on someone's shoulders but, as I said, it's a great environment and I think they will be able to nurture him and carry him through it."

The session was red-flagged for 10 minutes before Max Verstappen put his Red Bull at the top of the timesheets.

The Dutchman is on a five-race winless streak, but he set the early pace at the Temple of Speed, lapping two-tenths quicker than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Lando Norris, 70 points behind Verstappen in the championship following his triumph in the Netherlands last weekend, took third, 0.241 sec off the pace.

Hamilton finished seventh, half-a-second back. Second practice gets underway at 5pm local time.

Free Practice Results

1    Max Verstappen    NED    Oracle Red Bull Racing    1m21.676s
2    Charles Leclerc    MON    Scuderia Ferrari    1m21.904s
3    Lando Norris    GBR    McLaren F1 Team    1m21.917s
4    Carlos Sainz    ESP    Scuderia Ferrari    1m22.126s
5    Valtteri Bottas    FIN    Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber    1m22.127s
6    Oscar Piastri    AUS    McLaren F1 Team    1m22.199s
7    Lewis Hamilton    GBR    Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team    1m22.214s
8    Alex Albon    THA    Williams Racing    1m22.220s
9    Sergio Perez    MEX    Oracle Red Bull Racing    1m22.311s
10    Fernando Alonso    ESP    Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team    1m22.315s
11    Kevin Magnussen    DEN    MoneyGram Haas F1 Team    1m22.572s
12    Daniel Ricciardo    AUS    Visa Cash App RB F1 Team    1m22.605s
13    Yuki Tsunoda    JPN    Visa Cash App RB F1 Team    1m22.714s
14    Pierre Gasly    FRA    BWT Alpine F1 Team    1m22.763s
15    Zhou Guanyu    CHN    Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber    1m22.854s
16    Lance Stroll    CAN    Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team    1m22.864s
17    Franco Colapinto    ARG    Williams Racing    1m22.880s
18    Esteban Ocon    FRA    BWT Alpine F1 Team    1m22.880s
19    Nico Hulkenberg    GER    MoneyGram Haas F1 Team    1m23.157s
20    Andrea Kimi Antonelli    ITA    Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team    1m23.955s