Charles Leclerc claimed the fastest lap in the opening practice session for the Italian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and delivering a dominant one‑two performance for Ferrari at Monza. The Monegasque driver posted a lap time of 1:23.008, a full 0.173 seconds quicker than Hamilton, while Mercedes' George Russell trailed another tenth of a second behind in third place. The session also highlighted the situation of world championship contender Kimi Antonelli, who, after exceeding his allocated number of power‑unit components for the season, will have to start the race from the back of the grid. Despite this handicap, Antonelli managed a respectable fifth‑place lap for Mercedes, edging out McLaren’s Lando Norris, who occupied sixth.
Norris, fresh off victories in the previous two races, remains eager to defend his title, but the qualifying order places him well behind the championship leaders. In the current drivers' standings, Antonelli, Russell and Hamilton sit 59 points clear of the leader, while Norris is 83 points adrift of the Italian, holding fourth place overall.
The points gap underscores the intensity of the title fight as the season approaches its climax. Ferrari chose the Monza round to roll out the second of the two engine upgrades they are permitted to use this year. The decision came after the FIA’s technical inspections revealed that Ferrari’s power unit was lagging behind the outputs of Red Bull and Mercedes.
In addition to the power‑unit enhancement, the Scuderia introduced a suite of chassis modifications specifically tuned for the high‑speed demands of the Monza circuit, aiming to extract maximum aerodynamic efficiency on the long straights and fast corners. What makes the practice results even more striking is that both Leclerc’s and Hamilton’s best laps were set on the medium‑compound tyres, whereas Russell’s quickest time was recorded on the theoretically faster soft compound. This suggests that Ferrari’s package is delivering strong performance even without resorting to the soft tyre’s grip advantage, and it hints at a potentially larger speed margin for Mercedes than the raw lap times might indicate, especially given Antonelli’s lack of pressure to qualify well.
Red Bull’s Liam Lawson delivered a promising fourth‑place effort, despite the team fielding a line‑up that did not include any of its designated 2026 drivers. Lawson was substituting for Isack Hadjar, who missed the weekend after sustaining a wrist injury during the summer break. Max Verstappen also sat out, making way for several rookies to gain track time.
Among them, Ayumu Iwasa finished 17th in the Red Bull, while Alpine’s Paul Aron emerged as the top rookie, securing a tenth‑place finish. Cadillac’s representative, Colton Herta, was forced to abandon his run due to a technical fault, and Williams’ British hopeful Luke Browning placed 15th.
The varied grid composition highlighted the depth of talent across the sport and the importance of practice sessions for teams to fine‑tune their setups ahead of the crucial qualifying and race days. The weekend schedule is packed with action across the support categories. On Friday, the Formula 3 qualifying session kicks off at 12:55 pm, followed by Formula 2 qualifying at 1:50 pm, and the second practice for the Grand Prix at 2:35 pm.
The afternoon continues with the F1 Show at 4:15 pm and the Team Bosses’ press conference at 5:20 pm. Saturday features the F3 Sprint at 8:25 am, the third practice session for the Grand Prix at 11:15 am, the F2 Sprint at 1:10 pm, and the build‑up to qualifying at 2:15 pm, leading into the official qualifying session at 3:00 pm, with a post‑qualifying analysis at 5:00 pm. Sunday’s agenda includes the F3 Feature Race at 7:10 am, the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup race at 10:40 am, and a comprehensive Grand Prix build‑up at 12:30 pm.
The main event, the Italian Grand Prix, starts at 2:00 pm, followed by the chequered flag ceremony and post‑race reaction at 4:00 pm, and concludes with a final notebook recap at 5:00 pm. The qualifying session will also be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event for viewers seeking live coverage. Fans can watch the entire Monza weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available through NOW without a long‑term contract, offering the flexibility to cancel at any time. This accessibility ensures that supporters worldwide can follow Ferrari’s home race, monitor the impact of the new upgrades, and see how the championship battle unfolds as the season reaches its decisive stages.