Max Verstappen suffers nasty crash in practice session at Monza ahead of Italian Grand Prix

The first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix has momentarily been called to a halt after Max Verstappen suffered a crash as the driver’s got to grips with the iconic Monza track on Friday.  

Hamilton dominated from start to finish in Spa last weekend to extend his world championship lead over nearest rival Verstappen, and is looking to pick up from where he left off in Belgium with a win at the iconic Monza circuit. 

And a red flag was displayed midway through the session after Verstappen skidded across the Italian track, kicking up dust as he went into the gravel and then a barrier. 

Max Verstappen suffered a nasty crash at Monza during the first practice session in Italy

His Red Bull’s front wing came off and the Dutchman was able to get his car back into the garage as the session was called to a stop briefly. 

Ferrari have endured a poor season thus far, and returned home in desperate need of a shot in the arm after a terrible race in Spa, with both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finishing outside the points. 

The Red Bull driver’s front wing took heavy damage as he spun across the track into the gravel

This weekend a new FIA directive comes into play, with teams banned from using so-called ‘party modes’ during qualifying and in the race. It means that engines must be run in a single power mode. 

The official reasoning is to make it easier for teams to monitor power units, although it has been suggested that the ban has been aimed at Mercedes, who are believed to have the superior peak power mode.