Lewis Hamilton finished the first free practice session at Monza as the fastest. Max Verstappen was second four tenths behind, but reportedly drove with a reduced engine setting.

The track was crowded from the start. That's not surprising considering qualifying will be held later today. Hamilton started well and set a time of 1.23.634; Verstappen followed on P4 with a lap time of 1.24.662. He did this on hard compound, while Hamilton was on mediums at the time.

Mercedes faster than Red Bull during the entire practice session

The lap times soon become faster, and the times drop into the 1 minute 22. What is noticeable is that Mercedes is much faster than Red Bull the whole practice, and that Verstappen can't keep up with Hamilton's times, not even when he changes to the softs.

With just under ten minutes to go Hamilton drops below 1 minute 21 and sets a 1.20.926. Even on softs Verstappen can't match the times, and he finishes with a 1.21.378.