Charles Leclerc sends Monza wild as Ferrari seal 1-2 in FP1

Charles Leclerc delighted Ferrari’s Tifosi as he led home a 1-2 in the opening practice at the Italian Grand Prix, where the Ferrari teammates beat George Russell.

Leclerc set the pace with a 1:23.008, 0.173s ahead of Hamilton, with Russell just over a tenth behind his former teammate.

Charles Leclerc leads Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari 1-2 at Monza

The drivers left the pit lane under an official FIA heat hazard as the track temperature, already nudging 50’C, was forecast to rise.

Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa led the field out ahead of Cadillac reserve Colton Herta and Haas’ Esteban Ocon. The huge applause from the Tifosi, though, was held back until Charles Leclerc left the pits with a wave to the crowd followed by Lewis Hamilton.

Iwasa posted the opening time, a 1:34.202, but he was down in 13th place within minutes. George Russell set the early pace in the Mercedes, a 1:25.259, ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson, who was running the soft tyres.

Iwasa wasn’t happy with his fellow junior, Paul Aron, as the Alpine junior blocked him on the track. Their fellow junior driver Luke Browning was in the pits as Williams made set-up changes to the FW48.

Browning was one of four drivers, along with Herta, Gabriel Bortoleto and Aron, who did not have a time on the board after the opening 15 minutes.

Lando Norris was quickest with a 1:24.194, a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Lawson third fastest.

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The Virtual Safety Car was out a few minutes later as Herta came to a halt on the side of the track with his Cadillac stuck in gear. The marshals struggled to push the car behind the barrier, leading to a red flag.

Cadillac revealed that Herta’s car “was stopped due to a suspected hydraulic issue.”

The green flag was waved as the session resumed with Charles Leclerc came through with a 1:23.008.

Despite running the medium Pirelli tyres, he went three-tenths faster than Russell, with Hamilton a further two-tenths behind.

Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls was frustrated by Aron weaving, yelling: “What is he doing man!”

Oliver Bearman, meanwhile, was cleared for impeding Liam Lawson, who moved up to fourth place on the soft tyres.

Fernando Alonso spent a period in the Aston Martin garage as his mechanics worked on his front wing. Back on track, Alonso had a moment with the gravel but managed to keep his AMR26 on the track. Carlos Sainz bailed out at Turn 1, and Bearman ran through the gravel at the chicane.

Hamilton closed the gap to his teammate to 0.173s

The session ended with Leclerc leading a Ferrari 1-2 ahead of Russell, with Lawson, Antonelli, Norris, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Borteloto all within a second of Leclerc’s pace-setting time.

Italian Grand Prix: FP1 top ten

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:23.008
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:23.181
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:23.312
4 Liam Lawson Red Bull 1:23.433
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:23.644
6 Lando Norris McLaren 1:23.719
7 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:23.802
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:24.006
9 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:24.028
10 Paul Aron Alpine 1:24.177

The full results from FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix

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