Hamilton takes the lead in first practice at Monza

F1 Grand Prix, GP Italy, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix. At the high speed Autodromo di Monza, he went 3 tenths quicker than Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who himself was ahead of Rosberg, Vettel and Raikkonen.

The first practice session at Monza kicked off with the traditional installation laps, followed by a number of aero runs by several drivers.

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During one of those, Jenson Button found himself with the DRS flap open into the entry of Parabolica, an area where DRS is not allowed and not really a place on the circuit where you'd want that flap open. The flap did close later on, but the stewards started an investigation to make sure that the team rectifies the situation before the times really start to matter. The Briton also complained of a lot of oversteer early on in the session, while later the McLaren team was seen working in the garage on the front suspension of his car.

Ferrari's Alonso meanwhile was seen with two different front wings during the session. Contrary to Belgium, the Italian team looks set on the rear wing but are still busy evaluating different front wings on the Ferrari F138.

Halfway into the session, it's obvious that the times at the top are all very close. Vettel, Alonso and both Mercedes cars are all closely matched, only a few tenths apart.

Many drivers were also seen going off at the first chicane, missing their braking point. All were able to go straight on and rejoin the track without damaging their cars. Grosjean, and Gutierrez are just a few names, while Maldonado had a more spectacular off as he cut a lot of grass alongside the circuit.

10 minutes from the end, Nico Hulkenberg already gets out of his car. The car is raised and mechanics immediately started work on removing the car's floor, making it an obvious car issue.

The times didn't change in the closing minutes, and instead if was Felipe Massa who took care of the spectacle. Leaving the pits with cold tyres, he looked set to return to the track but soon found the light switching to red to mark the end of the session. The Brazilian suddenly braked, locking his front wheels and almost ran into Alonso who was sat at the end of the pitlane to do a practice start.