Ferrari Dominates First Practice at Monza with New Engine
Charles Leclerc lit up Monza on Friday, heading a Ferrari one-two in first practice as the Scuderia’s new power unit made an immediate statement at their home Grand Prix.
The Monegasque set a benchmark of 1:23.008, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton just 0.173s adrift. George Russell, also in a Mercedes-powered car, was third, a further tenth back.
On paper, it looked like Ferrari had come to the Temple of Speed armed to fight. On track, it felt like it too.
Ferrari’s upgrade lands with a thump
This weekend marks the debut of Ferrari’s second and final permitted engine upgrade of the season. The move came after FIA measurements showed their power unit lagging behind those of Red Bull and Mercedes. Monza, with its endless straights and flat-out sections, is the most brutal place to test a new engine. Ferrari chose it anyway.
They didn’t stop at horsepower. A raft of circuit-specific chassis tweaks arrived with the new power unit, all designed to sharpen the car through the high-speed sweeps and heavy braking zones.
The early signs were striking. Both Leclerc and Hamilton logged their best laps on the medium compound tyre. Russell, by contrast, needed the supposedly quicker softs to get within three tenths of the Ferrari pair. That detail will not have gone unnoticed in any garage.
The stopwatch told one story. The tyre choice hinted at another: Ferrari’s opening salvo may be more than a low-fuel headline.
Antonelli lurking, even from the back
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli ended the session fifth for Mercedes, tucked in behind an impressive Liam Lawson and just ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has won the last two races to haul himself back into title contention.
Antonelli’s weekend, though, already carries a twist. He will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after exceeding his allocation of engine components for the season. That reality changes his priorities. One-lap glory matters far less than race pace and tyre life.
So when Mercedes’ times looked a shade muted, the context mattered. With Antonelli unconcerned about qualifying position and the team likely managing programmes split across drivers and compounds, there is every chance the silver cars have more in hand than FP1 suggested.
Even so, the numbers are stark. Antonelli leads both Russell and Hamilton by 59 points in the standings, with Norris 83 points off the Italian in fourth. A charge from the back around Monza’s slipstream-heavy layout would only tighten his grip on the title narrative.
Lawson shines as Red Bull mix it up
Red Bull turned heads with their line-up before they even turned a wheel. Neither of their official 2026 race drivers took part in the opening session, handing the spotlight to stand-ins and rookies.
Liam Lawson seized it. Driving in place of Isack Hadjar, who remains sidelined with a wrist injury sustained over the summer break, Lawson powered to fourth, splitting the Ferraris and Mercedes on the timesheets and underlining his credentials in a car that was far from its usual configuration.
Ayumu Iwasa, stepping into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, finished 17th as he worked through a rookie-focused programme. It was a quieter showing on the timing screens, but the team’s priority clearly lay in gathering data rather than chasing glory laps.
Among the newcomers, Paul Aron delivered the standout time. The Alpine rookie slotted into 10th, the quickest of the fresh faces, and looked assured in traffic and under braking in one of the most unforgiving braking circuits on the calendar.
Colton Herta’s opportunity with Cadillac, by contrast, barely got going. A technical issue cut his session short, ending his first taste of Monza in frustration. Britain’s Luke Browning logged a solid 15th for Williams, completing valuable mileage and staying out of trouble.
Monza builds to a crescendo
The rest of the weekend now stacks up with a familiar Italian Grand Prix rhythm. Formula 3 and Formula 2 qualifying and races wrap around the remaining F1 sessions, with Practice Two and Three offering the final clues before qualifying on Saturday afternoon sets the grid.
Ferrari’s early punch has electrified the atmosphere. A home team, a fresh engine, and a car suddenly looking alive on mediums in front of the tifosi — it is exactly the storyline Monza craves.
Now the question hangs over the paddock: was this just an opening flourish, or the first sign that Ferrari’s season is about to change shape on the fastest stage of them all?
