Lewis Hamilton topped the F1 FP1 timings at the 2025 Italian GP, with a 1:20.117 for Ferrari. He was followed by teammate Charles Leclerc with a 1:20.286 and Carlos Sainz with a 1:20.650 for Williams.
Alex Dunne completed this session in the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, with Paul Aron in the Alpine of Franco Colapinto.
Green Light
As the green light was shown, much of the grid began their installation laps.
Lewis Hamilton pulled out of the Ferrari garage, soaking in his Monza debut with the Italian team.
However, the British driver will face a five-place grid drop, after failing to slow under double yellow flags, and to greatly reduce speed at the pit entry, prior to the Dutch Grand Prix.
Oliver Bearman reported that there was “debris on the main straight”, however, not enough to interfere with the running of the session.
The first unrepresentative times started tumbling, including Hamilton with a 1:22.235 for Ferrari, followed by Max Verstappen with a 1:22.644 for Red Bull.
A prominent tailwind caused instability for Charles Leclerc and Nico Hulkenberg as they ran through the gravel at Turn 1. Lando Norris also missed the first chicane.
Lance Stroll reported he had “some helmet lift” yet was able to continue.
As the first representative times started to be set, Norris went quickest with a 1:21.513 for McLaren. He was quickly replaced by Alex Albon with a 1:21.479 at a track that always proves strong for Williams.
Verstappen reported that the “tyres are starting to slide”, despite only completing six laps on the medium compound.
However, the Dutch driver was able to go quickest with a 1:21.166 for Red Bull.
Picking up a slipstream from Yuki Tsunoda, Albon topped the timings once again with a 1:21.073.
45 Minutes Remaining
Setting three purple sectors, Verstappen showed dominance once again with a 1:20.751.
It was frustration for Pierre Gasly, who faced Carlos Sainz on track, with traffic proving a prominent issue at this track.
Aron suffered a spin as he touched the gravel on the entry of the Variante della Roggia chicane yet was able to recover.
30 Minutes Remaining
Once again, Verstappen reported that he had “no grip”, with the Dutch driver seemingly struggling with the handling of his car.
Fernando Alonso was another driver suffering with grip issues out on track, with Aston Martin deciding to make a change to the front suspension to try and solve this.
It was a scruffy session at this stage for the McLaren of Norris, backing out of his red-walled compound run after touching the gravel in Lesmo 1 and 2.
Red Flag
With 25 minutes remaining, the red flag was waved due to an excessive amount of gravel on track.
This was triggered by Isack Hadjar running wide at the Ascari chicane, with Kimi Antonelli following suit.
As it stood, Verstappen still topped the timings with a 1:20.692 for Red Bull. He was followed by the Sainz with a 1:20.883 for Williams, and Leclerc with a 1:20.970 for Ferrari.
Green Flag
With 18 minutes remaining, the session resumed.
However, Hadjar was not one of the cars to exit the pit-lane, with the Racing Bulls team working on the floor of the Frenchman’s car after his incident at Ascari.
With much of the field on soft tyre runs, Leclerc topped the timings with a 1:20.286 for Ferrari, with teammate Hamilton falling into third with a 1:20.763.
A notable moment for the Italian crowd, with a second soft tyre run from Hamilton making it a 1-2 for Ferrari, going quickest with a 1:20.117.
It was only fifth for Norris in the MCL39, with the crucial question being if the British driver is masking the team’s true pace?
Virtual Safety Car
With less than one minute remaining, George Russell stopped on track, claiming he had “lost power.”
Getting out of the car, it was a not a good end to the session for Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton topped the F1 FP1 timings at the 2025 Italian GP, with a 1:20.117 for Ferrari. He was followed by teammate Charles Leclerc with a 1:20.286 and Carlos Sainz with a 1:20.650 for Williams.
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