FP1 Highlights | 2026 Italian Grand Prix

First practice at Monza, one of the legendary circuits on the F1 calendar, and the fastest man at the Templar speed was driving an Italian car, Charles Leclerc, clocking in at 1'23.008. The Monogas driver was the last Ferrari man to win this race two years ago. Lewis Hamilton went wide at Turn 4 and cut the corner on the next. He was second fastest in this session, completing a Ferrari 1-2. The Briton has won this race on five occasions, tying honours with the great Michael Schumacher in that regard. Ferrari are honouring their greatest driver with a full-on scarlet livery and bespoke race suits this weekend, featuring the German's logo and the seven stars representing his driver's titles, five of which he won with the Scuderia. With both their drivers in fine form, with a winner piece in 2026, the De Fossi should have plenty of reason to be optimistic this weekend. But split loyalties will abound amongst the crowd, with an actual Italian on the track but driving for a German team. However, it'll be a hard task for Kimi Antonelli this weekend. The teenager is due to start his home race from the back of the grid after Mercedes confirmed he would exceed his power unit allowance on Sunday. He led a convoy of cars, cutting the corner at Turn 1, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz all following suit. George Russell dipped a couple of wheels into the gravel at Turn 5, but managed the third best time of the session, two places better off than his Mercedes team-mate. Reigning world champion Lando Norris' recent run of excellent form has seen him leap into the fourth spot in the 2026 standings. Still a long way to go if he's to challenge runaway leader Kimi Antonelli, but a haul of 56 points over the last two weekends has been a major fillip for the Britons' hopes of retaining his title. Off the back of his brace of back-to-back victories, the Briton announced he'd signed a contract extension with the Woking team until at least the end of 2030. It's the first time this generation of cars have been pushed around Monza, causing some consternation for seasoned competitors as well as relative newcomers. Fernando Alonso put both left-side wheels in the gravel at Turn 6, Charles Leclerc went bouncing over the kerbs at Turn 5, Carlos Sainz locked up and took the escape road at Turn 1. And Olly Behrmann went a bit skew-whiff, attempting to cut the chicane at the same spot. Isaac Hajar is still recovering from the injury he sustained during the summer break, so Liam Lawson remains deputised by Red Bull. He finished the session P4. Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda once again slotted into Lawson's vacant seat at The Japanese driver just missed out on the points in Zandvoort, finishing P11, ahead of team-mate Arvid Lindblad. He was P12 at the flag in FP1. Over the course of the season, each driver must give up his seat at least twice to enable a rookie to take to the track in first practice. Four got the nod in Monza. Colton Hurter took Sergio Perez's Cadillac, but his time in the car ended after 20 minutes. Colton, we need to stop the car. And I can tell you why the red flag has come out. That car is absolutely stuck. It's locked in gear and won't go into neutral. The marshals have tried pressing the neutral button that's in front of the halo on the front of the car. It's not gone into neutral. They can't move the car, so they have to bring this green thing out and lift it away. Luke Browning was in for Alex Albon at Williams. He was forced to cut the corner at Turn 1. He got a bit close to Hamilton. So Lewis was there, but I don't know if Luke was going to get the car stopped. And why he didn't. I got blocked by Hamilton. Ayumu Owasa was given Max Verstappen's RB22 for the hour. He felt a little put out by one of the other rookies. Whoa, what is he doing? As was compatriot Yuki Tsunoda. What is he doing, man? The errant driver in question on both occasions was Paul Aaron, getting his fourth FP1 appearance of the season, sitting in for Pierre Gasly. So it finished Leclerc, top from Hamilton, Russell, Lawson, Antonelli and Norris. Then came Lindblad, Bortoletto, Colopinto and Aaron, the quickest of the rookies. P11 for Oskar Piastri, and he was ahead of Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Behrmann, Browning, Sainz, Owasa, Ocon, Bottas, Stroll, Alonso and Hertha.