MONZA, Italy: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc delighted the Ferrari fans with a surprise one-two in first practice for the Italian Formula One team’s home grand prix at Monza on Friday.
Making his first appearance at Monza in Ferrari red, seven-times world champion and five-times Italian GP winner Hamilton lapped the super-fast ‘Pista Magica’ with a best time of one minute 20.117 seconds.
Leclerc, last year’s winner, was 0.169 slower with former Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz — the man Hamilton replaced in January after moving from Mercedes — third for Williams but 0.533 off the pace.
Hamilton has yet to stand on the podium for Ferrari and Friday’s opening session, held in bright sunshine at the ‘Temple of Motorsport’, was a boost after the team’s double blank in the Netherlands last weekend when both cars crashed.
Hamilton will have a five-place grid penalty for Sunday, however, after it was carried over from Zandvoort.
Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen was fourth fastest ahead of Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes.
McLaren’s title contender Lando Norris was sixth after a trip through the gravel, with championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri sitting out the session while Irish Formula Two driver Alex Dunne took his place and ended up 16th.
Alex Albon was seventh fastest for Williams with Mercedes’ George Russell — who lost power and pulled over toward the end — eighth and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso ninth with Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar completing the top 10.
French rookie Hadjar, third last weekend for his first career podium in Formula One, triggered a red flag when he went off at the Ascari Chicane with 25 minutes to go and scattered gravel across the track.
Alpine had Estonian reserve driver Paul Aron replacing Argentina’s Franco Colapinto for the session and he finished last.
Runaway leaders McLaren are chasing a sixth win in a row on Sunday, with Piastri 34 points clear of Norris after 15 of 24 rounds. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in first Monza practice
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Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two in first Monza practice
- Hamilton lapped the super-fast ‘Pista Magica’ with a best time of one minute 20.117 seconds
- Leclerc, last year’s winner, was 0.169 slower with former Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz
Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty
- Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt
CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.
Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.
The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.
“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.
“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.
“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”
Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.
“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.
“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”
Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.
“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.
“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”
Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.
The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.
“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”
Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.
“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.
“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”
