Max fourth in Monza FP1

Published on 05 September 2025 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen opened his Italian Grand Prix weekend with a fourth place in the opening practice session. Lewis Hamilton was quickest around the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in second. Williams’ Carlos Sainz completed the top three.

FP1 features a couple of new faces on the grid; McLaren junior Alex Dunne has taken over Oscar Piastri’s MCL39 for the opening session. At Alpine, Paul Aron is driving Franco Colapinto’s car.

Dunne is the first driver to complete a timed lap, but the Irish rookie is quickly usurped by Max, who has done so on a set of the medium Pirelli tyres. To delight of the Tifosi, Lewis Hamilton steers his Ferrari to the top of the timing sheets, before Max snatches back P1 and is the pace setter 15 minutes in.

At the halfway mark, drivers start to switch to the soft Pirellis, resulting in the lap times tumbling. Max is able to improve his lap time but is not happy with the RB21. “No grip, a lot of sliding”, reports the reigning champion.

With 25 minutes to go, the session is briefly red flagged to allow the marshals to sweep away gravel that is on track at Ascari. The session resumes with 17 minutes on the clock, prompting a flurry of activity with drivers looking to make up for lost track time.

In the end, the Ferraris set the pace in a session that is brought to an end with George Russell’s Mercedes grinding to a hold.

Contest GP Italy: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing cap!

Results first free practice Italy: