F1 title rivals separated by 10 places in Monza speed trap ranking

Valtteri Bottas was the fastest driver through the speed trap in Friday's opening free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, as cars powered by Mercedes and Ferrari engines dominated the list.

Mercedes driver Bottas clocked a top speed of 347.9km/h through the trap, which is placed at the end of the long pit straight.

Daniel Ricciardo and Nicholas Latifi, whose respective McLaren and Williams machines are also fitted with Mercedes power units, were next to feature, followed by the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeos of Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Kubica.

Fernando Alonso (Renault-powered Alpine) and Pierre Gasly (Honda-powered AlphaTauri) were the only drivers without a Mercedes or Ferrari engine to place inside the top 10, with no further car changes permitted before qualifying.

FP1 pace-setter Lewis Hamilton was ninth quickest through the trap in his Mercedes, with title rival Max Verstappen (Honda-powered Red Bull) all the way down in 19th in the rankings, despite posting the second-fastest time of the session.

Hamilton's speed of 340.5km/h was some 4.5km/h up on Verstappen. Meanwhile, the lead Mercedes of Bottas was almost 10km/h faster than the lead Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted after practice that he expects Honda to turn up their engine for qualifying, while there is also the unknown of precisely how much downforce each team have decided to put on their cars.