Italian F1 Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying: Bottas Sets Practice Pace, Full Results

Mercedes made a dream start to their preparations for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix after Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton clinched one-two finishes in both first and second practice sessions.

Hamilton ended the morning session quickest in Monza, but Bottas reminded the Formula 1 world of his talents after topping his team-mate with an even faster time of one minute, 21.406 seconds later in the day.

The Mercedes duo looked highly impressive during their first venture out ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, one of the most highly anticipated races on the Formula 1 calendar.

Hamilton returned to Monza this week after winning three of the previous five Grands Prix held at the legendary Italian venue, and Friday's early performances suggested he might make it four in the past six.

The official Formula One Twitter account provided a look at the general classification after Friday's second practice run:

Second Practice

Ferrari star Kimi Raikkonen had a first practice to forget for the most part, but after shaking off the morning cobwebs, he rampaged into P1 with a more impressive lap—a trend that continued as second practice wore on.

However, Finnish compatriot Bottas took the limelight with a little less than an hour of the session remaining, and Sky Sports F1 showed how he led Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by just over a tenth of a second: 

The Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen—the latter of whom was particularly limited in his morning run—got a valuable amount of time on the track in the afternoon, registering 56 laps between them.

Unfortunately for sister manufacturer Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz Jr. was prevented from racking up the same number of laps after an engine failure saw plumes of smoke erupt from his car:

The weather in second practice was far warmer than in the morning session, which had its impact on tactics and tyre choice as Friday wore on.

The virtual safety car was sent out close to the end of second practice after a suspension failure caused Kevin Magnussen of Haas to lock up, and he was fortunate to escape any injury in what could have been a far worse incident.

That was it for Friday's drama, however, and one would be unwise to rule Bottas out of taking a third win in 2017 if his performance in second practice was anything to go by.

Ferrari and Red Bull, meanwhile, will look forward to an improved display ahead of qualifying on Saturday, as Mercedes continue to illustrate their dominion leading up to Monza on Sunday.

First Practice

With only seven points distancing Hamilton from standings leader Vettel following Sunday's win at the Belgian Grand Prix, the Briton comes to Italy knowing a sixth win of 2017 will at least pull him level at the top of the points table.

Williams duo Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa made an early bound for the top of the leaderboard, but it wasn't long before Hamilton set the pace with his opening lap, setting a time of 1:23.964 on the softs.

Mercedes swiftly illustrated their dominance, too, as Bottas comfortable held Vettel at bay in second, going more than a second faster than the German, whose Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen lingered in ninth.

Hamilton's change to the supersoft tyres was the move that spurred his pace on to the next level and saw him cut down to a new fastest time, much to the pleasure of his team:

Massa ended up finishing first practice with more laps than any other driver (37), but Bottas wasn't far behind with 31 circuits of his own, maintaining an impressive pace all the while.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ended up in P5 and P6, respectively, and the latter will have been disappointed to only record 23 laps, the lowest tally of any driver to end first practice in the top 10.

It's already been confirmed McLaren's Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's race last as a result of the 35-place grid penalty Honda incurred due to making more engine changes than they've been allotted for the season. 

At least the Spaniard could be somewhat pleased with his own display in first practice, rallying toward the middle of the group and testing out the halo system, per the team's Twitter account:

Monza could only hold back the conditions for so long, however, and the officials ultimately suspended first practice as the rain came down toward the end of the session, resuming after a 10-minute delay.

Hamilton's table-topping time remained the mark to beat, however, and Mercedes' early outing at Monza reaffirmed in a big way the notion they'll be the team to beat this weekend.