2026 Italian GP FP1: Leclerc heads Ferrari 1-2

Charles Leclerc delivered the perfect start to Ferrari’s home Italian Grand Prix weekend by setting the pace in first practice at Monza, heading team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari 1-2 as George Russell completed the top three for Mercedes.

Leclerc produced the standout lap of the opening hour with a 1m 23.008s, remarkably setting his benchmark on the medium tyre at a point when several rivals were turning to the soft compound in search of outright performance.

Nobody found an answer before the chequered flag. Hamilton eventually climbed to second, 0.173s behind Leclerc, while Russell ended FP1 0.304s off the pace in third. It was an encouraging opening statement from Ferrari in front of the Tifosi and an intriguing first indication of the competitive picture at one of Formula 1’s most distinctive circuits.

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP1, 4 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:23.008	29
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.173s	26
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.304s	27
4	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+0.425s	26
5	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.636s	27
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.711s	26
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.794s	29
8	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+0.998s	21
9	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.020s	27
10	61	Paul Aron	Alpine	+1.169s	23
11	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.176s	26
12	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+1.563s	27
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.618s	27
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.638s	28
15	46	Luke Browning	Williams	+1.732s	25
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.819s	25
17	36	Ayumu Iwasa	Red Bull Racing	+1.865s	24
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2.844s	26
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.976s	27
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.058s	23
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+3.064s	21
22	25	Colton Herta	Cadillac	+6.914s	5

Four rookies get their chance in FP1

The first practice session featured a significantly reshuffled grid, with four rookies taking over cars as teams fulfilled their young-driver running commitments.

Ayumu Iwasa stepped into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, while Luke Browning replaced Alex Albon at Williams. Paul Aron returned to Alpine in place of Pierre Gasly and American Colton Herta made his third FP1 appearance of the season, this time taking over Sergio Perez’s Cadillac.

There were changes elsewhere too. Liam Lawson continued with Red Bull for a second consecutive Grand Prix weekend as he again deputised for the injured Isack Hadjar.

That created another opportunity for Yuki Tsunoda, who took Lawson’s usual Racing Bulls seat as the reshuffling of the two Red Bull-owned teams continued at Monza.

Iwasa was the first driver to lead the field out when FP1 began at 1230 local time, with hot and sunny conditions greeting the drivers at the Temple of Speed.

The hard tyre was the preferred choice for the majority of the field during the opening phase, although several drivers opted to begin their programmes on either the medium or soft compound.

There was no shortage of activity from the opening minutes and, with 22 cars attempting to maximise track time around the relatively short Monza lap, traffic quickly became one of the main talking points.

Iwasa was among those frustrated, complaining over team radio after encountering Aron’s Alpine on the racing line.

At the front, Russell provided the early benchmark. The Mercedes driver recorded a 1m 23.802s during the opening quarter of the session, putting himself almost four tenths clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Herta stoppage brings out red flag

The rhythm of the session was then interrupted when Herta’s Cadillac came to a halt on track.

The American had been instructed by the team to stop the MAC-26, with a suspected hydraulic problem bringing his latest practice appearance to a premature end.

Yellow flags were initially displayed before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Race control subsequently upgraded that to a red flag while marshals recovered the stricken Cadillac and cleared the circuit.

It proved a particularly costly problem for Herta given the limited track time available to rookie drivers during an FP1 appearance, and he would not return to the action.

There was still just over half of the hour remaining when the session restarted, with Norris now sitting at the top of the timing screens thanks to a 1m 23.719s.

Attention then began to turn towards the more representative qualifying-style runs.

A number of drivers switched to the soft tyre for their first serious flying laps, including both Mercedes cars, with Russell and Antonelli among those looking to exploit the additional grip.

Russell initially returned to the top of the order, but the response from Ferrari was immediate — and came without Leclerc needing the softest compound.

Leclerc finds the pace on mediums

Leclerc produced a 1m 23.008s on the medium tyre to leap to the head of the timesheets, beating Russell by around three tenths and establishing what would ultimately remain the fastest lap of FP1.

The lap drew the reaction Ferrari would have wanted from the home support, with the Tifosi given an early reason to believe the SF-26 could be a serious factor across the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

Hamilton sat third at that stage, while Antonelli occupied fourth as the Italian began his home event wearing a special helmet inspired by MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.

Traffic continued to cause problems, however, and Aron once again found himself at the centre of another driver’s frustration. This time it was Tsunoda who complained over the radio after encountering the Estonian Alpine in his path.

As FP1 entered its final quarter, the circuit remained crowded as teams shifted their attention towards completing longer runs, gathering tyre information and working through the remainder of their Friday programmes.

Hamilton was one of the drivers who still had more lap time to find.

The seven-time World Champion improved to second place, moving to within 0.173s of his Ferrari team-mate and securing a 1-2 for the Scuderia at the end of the first competitive session of its home weekend.

Leclerc’s earlier 1m 23.008s remained untouched, giving the Monegasque top spot despite setting his best lap on the medium compound.

Russell finished third for Mercedes, 0.304s behind Leclerc, while Lawson made an encouraging start to his second weekend deputising at Red Bull by taking fourth, 0.425s away from the benchmark.

Antonelli completed the top five at 0.636s off the pace, giving the Italian plenty of useful running at his home circuit despite the grid penalty hanging over him for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Norris ultimately slipped to sixth in the McLaren after featuring prominently earlier in the hour.

Ferrari on top as rookies mix into the order

Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad claimed seventh, with Gabriel Bortoleto putting his Audi eighth.

Franco Colapinto was ninth for Alpine, while rookie Aron completed an impressive top 10 despite twice attracting attention for getting in the way of other drivers during a busy session.

Oscar Piastri had a quieter opening hour for McLaren and ended FP1 in 11th, one position ahead of Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls.

Nico Hulkenberg was 13th in the second Audi, while Ollie Bearman placed his upgraded Haas 14th as the American team began evaluating its latest package around Monza’s unique low-downforce layout.

Browning was the second-highest of the four rookie substitutes in 15th for Williams, finishing ahead of regular driver Carlos Sainz in the team’s other car.

Iwasa ended his Red Bull appearance in 17th, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in 18th and Haas driver Esteban Ocon in 19th.

Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas took 20th, with Lance Stroll 21st in the second Aston Martin.

Herta completed the classification in 22nd after managing only five laps before the suspected hydraulic problem forced him to stop his Cadillac and brought out the red flag.

Ferrari therefore leaves the opening session with the headline result it wanted: Leclerc fastest, Hamilton close behind and both cars ahead of one of their principal rivals in Russell.

There are important caveats to any FP1 classification, particularly at Monza where fuel loads, engine modes, tow effects and tyre choices can dramatically alter the picture. Leclerc setting the quickest time on mediums while others used softs is nevertheless an eye-catching start, and Ferrari now has a strong baseline to work from as it looks to deliver in front of its home crowd.

For Mercedes, Russell’s third place and Antonelli’s fifth suggest there is pace in the car, while Lawson’s fourth provides Red Bull with encouragement despite Verstappen sitting out the session. McLaren, meanwhile, has more to uncover after Norris and Piastri finished sixth and 11th respectively.