Ferrari Dominates FP1 at Monza with Engine Upgrade

Charles Leclerc lit up Monza on Friday, spearheading a Ferrari one-two in first practice as the Scuderia’s long-awaited engine upgrade made an immediate statement at home.

The Monegasque clocked a 1:23.008, with team‑mate Lewis Hamilton 0.173s back and George Russell a further tenth adrift for Mercedes in third. On paper, it looked like a tight session. On track, it felt like Ferrari had walked into their own backyard and finally brought the power to match the expectation.

Ferrari land their punch at home

This was no routine FP1 headline. Ferrari rolled out the second and final power unit upgrade they are allowed this season, a response to FIA measurements that had left their engine ranked behind Red Bull and Mercedes. They didn’t come to test it quietly.

Leclerc and Hamilton both set their best laps on the medium compound. Russell needed the softer, supposedly quicker tyre to get within three tenths. Around Monza, where every kilometre per hour down the straights is measured like gold dust, that detail matters.

Ferrari also arrived with a set of circuit‑specific chassis tweaks, all aimed at trimming drag and sharpening the car through the high‑speed sweeps. The early signs were exactly what the tifosi wanted: a car that looked planted in the Lesmos and savage on the main straight.

For a team under pressure to turn promise into points, this was a welcome first marker.

Antonelli lurking despite back‑row penalty

World championship leader Kimi Antonelli ended the session fifth in the other Mercedes, behind an impressive Liam Lawson but ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Antonelli’s weekend is already compromised. He’ll start Sunday’s race from the back after exceeding his engine allocation for the year. One‑lap glory means nothing to him now; race pace and tyre life will dictate his approach.

That’s why his low‑key fifth place may flatter Ferrari. If Mercedes are hiding fuel and power modes while their title leader treats qualifying as a formality, there could be more in hand than the timesheets suggest.

The standings underline the control Antonelli still holds. He leads both Russell and Hamilton by 59 points, with Norris 83 points off the Italian in fourth. The penalty stings, but it doesn’t yet threaten the bigger picture.

Lawson shines as Red Bull mix up the deck

Lawson produced one of the standout performances of the session, taking fourth for Red Bull in a car that, on paper, belongs to a team in transition this weekend.

Red Bull ran a makeshift line‑up, with neither of their confirmed 2026 race drivers in action. Lawson stepped in for Isack Hadjar, who misses a second straight race after a wrist injury suffered over the summer break. Max Verstappen was also absent, one of four regulars to make way for rookies.

Ayumu Iwasa climbed into Verstappen’s car and finished 17th, learning the ropes in the most unforgiving of classrooms. The gap to Lawson underlined the difference between a driver trying to impress for a future seat and one simply logging laps.

The pressure, though, sat squarely on Lawson’s shoulders. Fourth at Monza in FP1, in a shuffled Red Bull structure, will not go unnoticed.

Rookies take their shot

Alpine’s Paul Aron emerged as the pick of the rookies in 10th, a tidy, composed session that put him squarely in the midfield fight on the timesheets. On a day where many young drivers were simply asked not to make mistakes, he did more than that.

Luke Browning delivered a solid 15th for Williams, a clean run that ticked every box the team would have wanted from him. No drama, no gravel, no red flags. Just data.

Not everyone enjoyed a smooth introduction. Colton Herta’s much‑anticipated outing for Cadillac was cut short by a technical issue, robbing him of valuable mileage and the team of a proper look at his potential over a full session.

Norris bides his time

Behind the Ferrari‑Mercedes intrigue, Norris quietly slotted into sixth. The McLaren driver, fresh from back‑to‑back wins that have reignited his title defence, never looked like chasing headline times.

McLaren know what they are. They also know Monza can be unforgiving if a set‑up gamble goes wrong. On Friday afternoon, Norris and the team seemed content to build their weekend layer by layer rather than chase Ferrari’s early roar.

A statement, but is it real?

So what did FP1 really tell us?

Ferrari’s upgrades have at least given them a car that behaves the way they hoped at high speed. The stopwatch backed that up, and the manner of Leclerc’s lap – committed under braking, aggressive on traction – suggested he trusted what was underneath him.

Yet Mercedes have every reason to keep their cards close. With Antonelli already resigned to a back‑row start, they can afford to play the long game, tune the car for Sunday and let Ferrari carry the early expectations.

Red Bull, split between experience and evaluation, sit in the shadows for now. McLaren are lurking, methodical as ever.

Ferrari have landed the first blow at Monza. The real question is whether this upgrade has finally given them the power to keep swinging through the weekend, or if Friday was just the loudest part of the song.