Mercedes AMG Petronas started the weekend at the historic Monza circuit at the top of the timesheets as Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the first session with Nico Rosberg leading the way in the afternoon.

Lewis's time set in first practice (1:26.187) was enough to remain the best after both sessions today. Nico's best lap of 1:26.225 in P2 meant that he ended the session quickest with just +0.061 between him and Lewis. Both the medium and the hard tyres were used today in each session and the team completed a total of 108 laps. A component change after an electronic problem for Lewis' car limited his running in the second session.

Nico Rosberg: It seems that we are quick on one lap but on the long run the others were very fast. I didn't feel 100 per cent confident in the car, so I can't be happy with today and I have a lot of work to do tonight with the boys. It's really great to be back on such a traditional track here at Monza with all the history. Now being here with this quick Silver Arrow makes it very special for me. The fans are very enthusiastic as always and also very kind to us. I'm really looking forward to the weekend.

Lewis Hamilton: I felt really good after the practice session this morning and we have definitely got a competitive car this weekend. Unfortunately we lost some track time this afternoon but the guys did a great job to get me back out so I got a few laps at least. We made some changes over lunch and then another during the session and, although I didn't have a lot of laps, the car feels great. Hopefully I'll be able to have the full session tomorrow and get some good running. Monza is quite an important circuit to put the car at the front as it's very difficult to overtake here. It would be great to have a trouble-free qualifying tomorrow afternoon.

Toto Wolff: It was a mixed day for us. Nico had a smooth day and completed his planned programme. With Lewis, we lost a lot of running due to an electronic problem. We need to identify the cause and resolve that this evening. Obviously it's not ideal but Lewis did a good job to recover and put in some strong laps. We need to work hard tonight to make sure the performance is at our full potential - and that our reliability is bullet proof.

Paddy Lowe: Nico ran a normal programme in today's two practice sessions, exploring the different tyre compounds and the unique aerodynamic set-up we use here in Monza. As always here in Monza, it is a challenge to get the tyre in the right condition at the same time as putting together three strong sectors. For Lewis, the day was a little more interrupted. We suffered an electronic problem firing up Lewis' engine in first practice which cost some track time, but we made some adjustments in order to run normally. Unfortunately he then experienced a more severe recurrence at the start of second practice. This meant he lost around 45 minutes of track time as we replaced additional components which appeared to resolve the issue. Although this wasn't his race engine, we will be working hard tonight to identify and eliminate the precise cause. Out on track, Lewis made the best of his limited running and got a feel for the car on both tyre types and at high fuel. In terms of our performance, this is never a comfortable situation, and we will be working hard to optimise further for qualifying and the race.

Check out our Practice gallery, here.