Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton have the Monza tifosi something to cheer about by taking top spot in the opening practice session for this weekend’s 2025 FIA Formula Italian Grand Prix, with team-mate Charles Leclerc in second place ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz.

The Ferrari pair set the pace on Medium tyres in the opening five minutes of the session, with Leclerc leading the way on 1:22.021, four milliseconds ahead of his team-mate. That marker didn’t last long, however, as both Norris and Verstappen moved clear of the lead Ferrari before Williams’ Alex Albon moved to P1 with a lap of 1:21.479 set on Hard tyres. 

Verstappen, who after six laps was reporting that his Medium tyres were beginning to slide more, then went top with a lap of 1:21.166 and then worked his way to 1:20.751 to tighten his grip on P1. 

With 20 minutes on the clock Leclerc slotted into second place a little over two tenths adrift of the Red Bull driver and tenth ahead of Albon and with Isack Hadjar in fourth place. The Racing Bulls driver was shown a black and white flag, however, when he went off track and rejoined but “failed to follow the Race Director’s instructions” regarding escape roads.  

Carlos Sainz, on Hard tyres, then joined his Williams team-mate Albon in the top five, with the Spanish driver bouncing his former Ferrari team-mate Leclerc out of P2 with a lap of 1:20.883. 

Verstappen then bolted on a set of Soft tyres and though the Dutchman looked to have backed out of the lap in the final corners he still managed to lower the P1 benchmark to 1:20.692. The Dutchman was soon on the radio saying that he had “no grip” on the lap and was sliding a lot. The Red Bull driver soon headed back to the pit lane to make tweaks before his next run. 

But when the Dutchman went out again, the session as soon halted as Hadjar went wide and sprayed gravel across the track. 

After an eight-minute clean-up operation the session resumed and Leclerc bookended his next lap on Softs with purple sectors to go four tenths of a second clear of Verstappen with a lap of 1:20.286. Hamilton then slotted into P2, almost half a second down on his team-mate. The seven-time champion was soon demoted to fourth place as Sainz took P2 with a lap of 1:20.650. 

Hamilton was finding more pace, though, and in front of the tifosi the Briton claimed top spot with a lap of 1:20.117, just under two tenths ahead of Leclerc. Sainz held on to P3 at the flag with Verstappen’s earlier time keeping him fourth. 

A year after he was announced as a 2026 Mercedes driver, local hero Kimi Antonelli finished fifth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Alex Albon was sixth in the other Williams with George Russell seventh in the other Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. The top 10 order was rounded out by Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar. 

Elsewhere, two test and reserve drivers were given an FP1 outing. Alex Dunne took over championships leader Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and ended the session in P16, while Paul Aron replaced Franco Colaptino at Alpine and finished 20th. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:20.117 20 260.304
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.286 0.169 24 259.756
3 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:20.650 0.533 25 258.584
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:20.692 0.575 22 258.449
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:20.940 0.823 25 257.657
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:21.021 0.904 28 257.399
7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:21.073 0.956 25 257.234
8 George Russell Mercedes 1:21.110 0.993 20 257.117
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.114 0.997 20 257.104
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:21.158 1.041 25 256.965
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:21.172 1.055 24 256.921
12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:21.179 1.062 26 256.898
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:21.201 1.084 27 256.829
14 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:21.292 1.175 24 256.541
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.295 1.178 26 256.532
16 Alex Dunne McLaren/Mercedes 1:21.606 1.489 26 255.554
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:21.642 1.525 22 255.442
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:21.653 1.536 26 255.407
19 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:22.058 1.941 23 254.147
20 Paul Aron Alpine/Renault 1:22.153 2.036 23 253.853