Charles Leclerc Tops Monza Practice with Ferrari 1-2

Charles Leclerc lit up Monza in first practice, topping the times and leading a Ferrari 1-2 that sent a jolt of noise through the old autodrome.

On a day when most of the field turned to soft tyres for their headline laps, Leclerc stayed on the mediums and still beat them all. His 1m 23.008s, punched in midway through the hour, stood untouched to the flag. No one else got close.

Hamilton, now in red and chasing his own story with Ferrari, backed him up in second to complete a dream start for the Scuderia in front of the Tifosi. George Russell, quickest early on for Mercedes, slipped to third, three tenths off Leclerc’s benchmark.

Rookies everywhere, and an early stoppage

The session had a different look from the moment the pit lane opened at 1230 local time. Four rookies, four big seats.

• Ayumu Iwasa climbed into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
• Luke Browning took over Alex Albon’s Williams.
• Paul Aron returned in Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.
• Colton Herta, in his third outing of the season, replaced Cadillac’s Sergio Perez.

Liam Lawson, meanwhile, continued his stand-in role at Red Bull for the injured Isack Hadjar, which again pushed Yuki Tsunoda across to Lawson’s usual Racing Bulls seat.

Iwasa led a train of cars into the sunshine as FP1 began, most on hard tyres, some on mediums, a few on softs. The track filled instantly, and so did the radios. Traffic bit early, particularly for the rookies. Iwasa complained about Aron after finding the Alpine parked on the racing line.

Russell drew first blood on the timesheets, a 1m 23.802s putting him almost four tenths clear of Lando Norris in the opening phase.

Then came the first interruption. Herta rolled to a halt out on circuit with what the team suspected was a hydraulic issue, having been told to stop the car. Yellow flags, then a Virtual Safety Car, then a red flag as marshals moved the stricken MAC-26.

Ferrari answer the roar

When the session restarted with just over 30 minutes left, Norris headed the order with a 1m 23.719s. The field poured back out, and the tyre games began in earnest.

Russell and Kimi Antonelli bolted on softs for Mercedes and immediately went hunting for time. Russell jumped to the top again.

Then Leclerc changed the mood.

Still on mediums, he delivered that 1m 23.008s lap – a statement time, three tenths clear of Russell and, more importantly, one that stuck. The grandstands had their moment. Ferrari had theirs.

Hamilton soon climbed into the mix, improving late on to go P2, less than two tenths behind his team mate and nudging Russell down to third. Antonelli, running a special Valentino Rossi-inspired helmet for his home race, held fourth for a spell and kept himself firmly in the spotlight.

Aron, though, stayed in the wars. After the earlier run-in with Iwasa, he drew more criticism when Tsunoda complained over the radio about the Estonian blocking his path.

Busy end, clear pecking order

The final quarter of the session stayed hectic as teams cycled through long runs and qualifying sims. The order shuffled, but the top remained locked.

Leclerc’s time never came under serious threat. When the chequered flag fell, Ferrari sat first and second, with Russell three tenths back in third.

Lawson delivered an eye-catching P4 in the Red Bull, underlining his growing comfort in the car. Antonelli ended the hour in fifth, ahead of Norris in sixth.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad impressed with seventh. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto slotted into eighth, Franco Colapinto put his Alpine ninth, and Aron – despite the traffic dramas – completed the top 10.

Oscar Piastri missed out on the top 10 by a fraction in 11th. Tsunoda followed, then Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg. Ollie Bearman, in an upgraded Haas, took 14th ahead of Browning in 15th.

Carlos Sainz in the other Williams came next, followed by Iwasa, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin.

Herta, stranded after just five laps, propped up the classification.

Ferrari have laid down an early marker on home soil. Now the rest of the field has a few short hours, and a mountain of data, to work out how to catch them before the real fight begins.