Italian Grand Prix: Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashes on Mercedes debut in first practice, Max Verstappen fastest

Red Bull and Mercedes are both spending Friday comparing floor designs in an attempt to gather answers on their performance in recent races.

Mercedes introduced a new floor at the Belgian Grand Prix, took it off after Friday practice, used it at the Dutch Grand Prix, but still have questions about it.

Hamilton was using the previous specification floor in first practice, with the new one on Antonelli’s car. It will be swapped around when Russell takes the wheel in second practice, Hamilton using the new one and Russell the old.

Red Bull are trying modifications to their floor design, after Verstappen ran at the Dutch Grand Prix with the first generation of floor used this year to try to understand why the car’s balance was no longer satisfactory.

Behind Bottas, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was sixth fastest, from Hamilton, Williams’ Alex Albon, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Argentine Franco Colapinto, on his first outing for Williams after being drafted in to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season, was 17th fastest.