Leclerc fastest in first free practice at Monza

Published on 04 September 2026 by Florence Cobben

Charlec Leclerc has started his Formula 1 weekend-at his team's home Grand Prix with flying colors. The Monagasque set the fastest time ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen observed the session from the sidelines, having handed the keys to his Oracle Red Bull Racing-car to Ayumu Iwas.

After a week's respite, Formula 1 is back at the temple of speed, the Monza circuit. For Max Verstappen, the weekend will only start at the onset of FP2, as Ayumu Iwasa will be taking over for Max during FP1. Liam Lawson is still subbing in for injured Isack Hadjar, who has wrist problems.

Lawson starts the session by heading out on soft tyres and setting a 1:24.3 lap time. Lando Norris (McLaren) chooses to head out on medium tyres and sets a 1:23.7 time. However, the drivers don't have long to maximize the first stint – Colton Herta, replacing Sergio Perez at Cadillac, crawls to a standstill on the track and triggers a virtual safety car. Not much later, a red flag is called as well. After twenty minutes, Norris is leading ahead of George Russell (Mercedes) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). 

After the red flag is repealed, the drivers head out once more. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) gives the Tifosi something to celebrate and improves the grid's fastest time to a 1:23.0. He is three-tenths faster on medium tyres than the Mercedes-drivers, who are cruising on softs. Hamilton follows close behind, also on the medium tyre, and puts in the second fastest time of the day, coming in 17-hundredths short of Leclerc. Lawson also improves his time, four-tenths slower than Leclerc and good for fourth.

In the closing phases of training, the teams fix their focus on longer runs. The session ends with Leclerc fastest, ahead of Hamilton and Russell. Lawson ends in fourth, with a gap of four-tenths to Leclerc, while stand-in Iwasa crosses the line in seventeenth, 1.8 seconds distance from the session leader. 

The second training will commence at 4 PM CEST.

Results first free practice Italy: