Leclerc Dominates Monza Practice as Ferrari Gains Momentum

Charles Leclerc lit up Monza in first practice, giving Ferrari exactly the start they craved on home soil as he topped the times ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

On a scorching afternoon at the Temple of Speed, Leclerc clocked a lap 0.173 seconds quicker than the seven-time world champion, laying down an early statement in front of the tifosi. George Russell backed up Mercedes’ strong opening showing in third, but it was Ferrari who walked away with the psychological edge.

Behind the established names, Liam Lawson delivered one of the standout performances of the session. Drafted in again at Red Bull for the injured Isack Hadjar, the New Zealander slotted into fourth place, ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. On a day when every detail mattered, Lawson kept his lap clean and composed, and the stopwatch rewarded him.

Antonelli, carrying the weight of expectation as the Italian leading the drivers’ standings by 59 points over Hamilton and Russell, ended the session 0.636 seconds adrift of Leclerc. Not disastrous, but not the kind of authority he has shown for much of the season. The gap will not panic Mercedes, yet it will have pricked their attention.

The heat played its part. Track temperatures soared, grip ebbed and flowed, and mistakes hovered at the edge of every braking zone. The session’s rhythm broke when Colton Herta, making his own step up as he filled in for regular Cadillac driver Sergio Perez, ground to a halt with a hydraulic problem. His car stopped out on circuit, bringing out the red flags and forcing teams to rip up their carefully laid run plans.

When the track went green again, the urgency sharpened. Teams rushed to squeeze in long runs and qualifying simulations, but Ferrari’s early blow had already landed. With Leclerc on top and the red cars looking hooked up in the high-speed sections, the grandstands had their first reason of the weekend to believe.

There is another twist in the plot. Antonelli will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit, a penalty that reshapes the strategic picture. Ferrari know it. This weekend is a rare opening against the championship leader, and Leclerc’s early pace suggests they are in no mood to waste it.