Hamilton lights up Monza: Ferrari 1-2 in FP1 as Russell limps to a halt
Blue skies, red grandstands, and a Ferrari at the top of the times. Monza got the script it wanted on Friday morning, and Lewis Hamilton delivered it with a flourish.
On his first home weekend as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton headed FP1 with a 1:20.117, leading teammate Charles Leclerc by 0.169s to send the Tifosi into lunch in a very good mood. It wasn’t perfect everywhere—drivers were skating through gravel and grip was fleeting—but Ferrari looked sharp straight away.
This was Monza doing Monza things: traffic trains before every flyer, the odd red flag for housekeeping, and some exasperated radios to flavor the hour.
The session opened with the usual queue at the pit exit, Nico Hülkenberg leading the pack and McLaren reserve Alex Dunne stepping in for Oscar Piastri. “We need to put the headrest pads on when I come back,” Dunne reported mid-outing—rookie jobs on the world’s biggest stage.
Hamilton banked the first proper marker, a 1:22.235, ahead of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon, while Gabriel Bortoleto hopped across the chicane and Lance Stroll called in with a bout of “helmet lift.” Albon then hustled the Williams to the front at the 10-minute mark, first with a 1:21 and then improving to a 1:21.073, as Carlos Sainz finally joined after a slow start in the sister Williams.
Verstappen, not entirely comfortable—“tyres are starting to slide a little bit more in general”—still had enough to depose Albon by three tenths on softs. That set the tone for a mid-session order with Max on top from Sainz, Leclerc, Albon, Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso, Verstappen the only one among them on the red-walled Pirellis.
Monza’s eternal problem—finding space—flared early. Pierre Gasly had to dart around Sainz and wasn’t shy about his opinion of it on the radio. Alpine’s FP1 extra Paul Aron looped it after brushing the gravel at Turn 4, and Hadjar was noted by Race Control for the way he rejoined. Liam Lawson also took a little trip into the stones.
Soft runs began to cascade and the circuit bit back. Kimi Antonelli and Hadjar scuffed through the gravel, prompting a red flag to clear the mess. The Racing Bulls reported Hadjar’s floor had become a gravel spreader. Leclerc was noted for nipping by a Sauber at the moment the red flag came out, but stewards went with no further action.
When the green returned, Leclerc struck first, lowering the benchmark to a 1:20.286. George Russell added his name to the “helmet lift” complaints, Hamilton slotted behind Verstappen, and Sainz couldn’t make his latest soft attempt stick. Alonso, like a few others, gave Ascari’s gravel trap another reason to exist.
Then Hamilton found another gear. A purple middle sector, crisp braking at Rettifilo, and the lap that made the place erupt: 1:20.117 to reinstall Ferrari on top—both of them.
There was a late sting for Mercedes. With half a minute on the clock, Russell slowed and called it in: “I’ve lost power.” Virtual Safety Car deployed, session effectively done.
Up front, it read like a love letter to the locals:
– 1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari — 1:20.117
– 2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari — +0.169
– 3. Carlos Sainz, Williams — +0.533
– 4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull — +0.575
– 5. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes — +0.823
– 6. Lando Norris, McLaren — +0.904
– 7. Alexander Albon, Williams — +0.956
– 8. George Russell, Mercedes — +0.993
– 9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin — +0.997
– 10. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls — +1.041
Beyond the headline, there were a few early reads. Ferrari looked balanced on the softs and quick in the speed traps, Hamilton comfortable and incisive straight away. Verstappen’s single-lap pace is there despite the grumbles—and with the Red Bull often improving as the weekend layers on, don’t read too much into P4. Williams are in the fight again; Sainz’s confidence under braking translated nicely and Albon’s early work hinted there’s more to come.
Mercedes? The stopwatch was respectable—Antonelli in P5 looked tidy—but the late power unit scare for Russell is the kind of thing you don’t want in Italy on a Friday. McLaren’s session was scruffy on the softs as Norris twice backed out after chicane errors, while Dunne kept it clean and banked mileage. Kick Sauber had both cars mid-pack, Bortoleto recovering from his early off, and Alpine’s day was mostly about surviving the interruptions.
It’s only FP1, but Hamilton on a Ferrari at Monza leading the timesheets feels like it could carry some weight into qualifying games later. And if the opening hour is any guide, the tow trains and the gravel are already clocked in for weekend overtime.
