WATCH: Max Verstappen leads FP1 amidst Italian Grand Prix rookie chaos, Colapinto and Antonelli crashes separately

The opening practice session for the Italian Grand Prix was nothing short of eventful, with Max Verstappen emerging as the fastest driver amidst a flurry of incidents and disruptions. As the session neared its end, Williams rookie Franco Colapinto made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Just seconds before the conclusion of FP1, Colapinto experienced a lock-up that sent him skidding through the gravel at the final corner. The young driver managed to narrowly avoid the barrier and returned to the pits safely, but the mishap highlighted the pressures faced by debutants in the high-stakes world of Formula 1.

Here is the video:

Franco Colapinto finds the gravel late on in FP1💨 pic.twitter.com/MuOCUNbxG3

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 30, 2024

A debut to forget for Antonelli!

The session had already been marred by an earlier crash involving Kimi Antonelli, who was making his Mercedes debut. Approximately 10 minutes into FP1, Antonelli lost control of his car at the Parabolica corner, leading to a red flag and a temporary halt in proceedings.

Here is the video:

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Fortunately, Antonelli emerged from the incident unscathed, although his car sustained significant damage after a heavy impact on the tyre barrier. The crash interrupted what had been a promising start for the Italian, who had initially set the fastest time on soft tyres. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reassured the young driver over the radio, stating, “Kimi all good, all good Kimi,” as Antonelli apologized for the mishap.

Sauber shows hope! 

After the red flag period, Valtteri Bottas briefly topped the timesheets before being displaced by Verstappen, who clocked a fastest time of 1:21.676s on soft tyres. Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz followed closely behind, with Lewis Hamilton settling into seventh place. Kevin Magnussen faced scrutiny from the stewards for impeding Sainz earlier in the session.

Here are FP1 results: