Leclerc tops FP1 in Ferrari 1-2 at the Italian Grand Prix
Arriving in Italy for Round 13 of the 2026 Formula One World championship, all 22 drivers took to the track at the Temple of Speed for the first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend. Both Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Williams' Alex Albon will start at the back of the grid due to engine parts being taken out of their allocation.
Crucial headlines coming into this weekend included Isack Hadjar still out of action due to a wrist injury sustained over the summer break. For the second weekend running, he will be replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing with Yuki Tsunoda stepping into the second seat at Racing Bulls.
Additionally, with the results of the first and second rounds of ADUO having officially been released, some of the teams were also running upgraded engines for the first time. This included the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as well as Haas' Ollie Bearman who are a customer team of Ferrari. Ferrari, celebrating their home Grand Prix, are also running a special livery to celebrate 30 years since Michael Schumacher's debut with the team in 1996.
Across the grid, there were a range of rookies stepping in to complete the mandated rookie sessions. The new names joining for FP1 included Colton Herta (Cadillac), Paul Aron (Alpine), Aymu Iwasa (Red Bull) and Luke Browning (Williams). The drivers who sat out for the first session included Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen and Albon.
Within the first 10 minutes of the session, it was the home team who had set the pace as Leclerc set the benchmark of a 1:24.482. However, action was slowly brought to a halt after double yellow flags were waved due to Herta stopping on-track due to a suspected hydraulic issue. Given the location of the incident, Virtual Safety Car conditions were deployed ahead of a red flag.
With the red flag conditions removed, it was full-speed ahead for running. With half an hour remaining, Leclerc jumped to the top of the timesheets with a 1:23.008 on medium compound tyres. Soon after, Lawson briefly found himself in the top three before being pipped by Hamilton who went second-fastest for a Ferrari 1-2, 0.173s behind his teammate.
Further down the pack, Fernando Alonso was relegated to the garage for a large part of the session and struggled with grip when he came out onto the track. Meanwhile, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto jumped up to eighth, 0.998s off the pace, with Lindblad in seventh and Colapinto in ninth.
Out of the rookie runners, Aron came out ahead as he finished 10th and only a tenth behind his teammate for the session. Elsewhere, Browning finished 15th, Iwasa in 17th and Herta had a difficult session in 22nd having never come back out onto the circuit after his issue.
With two practice sessions remaining, there's no doubt that the times will continue to tumble ahead of Saturday's Qualifying session.
Ferrari getting a 1-2 in FP1 at Monza is a pretty strong start to their home Grand Prix. Leclerc being at the top will obviously be good for his confidence, and having Hamilton right behind him makes the result even better for the team. That said, it’s only the first practice session, so I wouldn’t read too much into the standings just yet. The other teams will have plenty of time to work on their setups and find more pace before qualifying. Monza is always one of the more interesting races to watch because of the speed and the atmosphere around the track. It’ll be interesting to see if Ferrari can keep this form going when the sessions start to…