Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his F1 practice debut for Mercedes but crashed dramatically in the opening round of the Italian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen set the fastest time.
Italian teenager Antonelli, who is expected to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025, drove George Russell's car and expectations were high for his first official F1 start.
But just 10 minutes into the session, he lost control of his car at the final corner of the high-speed Monza circuit.
Antonelli slammed into the barrier hard, sending his car spinning nearly 360 degrees into the tyre wall, and Mercedes face a race to get things straightened out for the second practice at 4pm on Friday. Sky Sports F1.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told the 18-year-old on the radio immediately after the crash that “everything is OK”, and Antonelli was later discharged from a medical centre.
“That's probably not how he wanted to spend the first 12 minutes of his F1 career,” Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok responded.
“He started to change direction and had a massive oversteer at the apex. I wonder if there was a gust of wind or something.
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Karun Chandhok looks at why drivers are struggling at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza after the spins of Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto.
“It's tough. I've been through the shunt as a reserve driver, feeling the pain, feeling embarrassed, feeling like I've let the team down.
“Psychologically, I think it's going to be a bit tough. I think he'll have a few more challenges in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, but there aren't many races left that aren't sprints or street tracks, so it's going to be tough for him.”
Verstafun, start your weekend well
Championship leader Verstappen made a strong start to the Italian Grand Prix weekend, finishing 0.2 seconds quicker than Charles Leclerc in his upgraded Ferrari.
Despite losing the Dutch Grand Prix to Lando Norris by 23 seconds just five days ago, Red Bull are looking much better on the newly resurfaced Monza track, which has some of the kerbs flattened.
Red Bull have struggled with bumpy roads and kerbs, so the track change could help their car as Verstappen looks to block Norris' 70-point lead in the drivers' standings.
Norris finished 0.241s behind Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz fourth and Sauber's Valtteri Bottas surprisingly fifth.
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Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz reports from the pit lane at the Italian Grand Prix that Ferrari have made a major upgrade as they look to secure victory at their home race.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished the season sixth ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Williams' Alex Albon, Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton is taking part in his final Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes before joining Ferrari next year and admitted on Thursday that he felt different heading into the weekend.
Williams' Franco Colapinto finished 17th in his first session since replacing Logan Sargent for the rest of the season. Colapinto had a clean first practice session until the very end when the Argentine ran into the gravel on the final corner but avoided the wall.
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James Bowles says letting Logan Sargent go was one of the toughest decisions he's ever had to make.
Italian GP live schedule on Sky Sports F1
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the Italian Grand Prix.
Friday, August 30th
1:55 p.m.: F3 qualifying
2:50pm: F2 Qualifying
3:45pm: Italian GP Practice 2 (Session starts at 4pm)
5:15pm: F1 Show
Saturday, August 31st
8:25am: F3 Sprint
11:15am: Italian GP Practice 3 (session starts at 11:30am)
1:10pm: F2 Sprint
2:15pm: Italian GP qualifying preparation
3pm: Italian GP Qualifying*
5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 1st
7:30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP Preparation
2pm: Italian Grand Prix
4pm: Checked Flag: Italian GP Reaction
5pm: Ted's Laptop
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2024 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership – no contract, cancel anytime
