2026 Formula 1 Italian GP
F1 Italian GP live commentary and updates - FP1
Follow along for all the action at Formula 1's first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
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I think that's lunch! We'll be back a little bit later to run through FP2 - and then we'll have our usual practice analysis coming up afterwards on Autosport.
Please do join us again shortly!
Aron wins the battle of the FP1 rookies with 10th, as Browning is 15th, Iwasa is 17th, and Herta 22nd after that hydraulic issue.
Oh, no they don't - Aron pips Piastri at the post to move up to 10th.
And that's it for FP1! It's a Ferrari 1-2, which will be an encouraging turn of events for the tifosi. Russell, Lawson, Antonelli, Norris, Lindblad, Bortoleto, Colapinto and Piastri complete the top 10 in this session.
Browning does a 1m24.740s to move up to 14th and ahead of Sainz, before Aron moves up to 10th.
Bortoleto then gets up to eighth, and Alonso 18th after brushing the gravel between the Lesmos.
If anyone's curious, last year's FP1 benchmark was a 1m20.901s, so we're actually only about 2.1 seconds off. That's not as bad as expected...
Hamilton moves up to second, with a 1m23.181s to get closer to Leclerc.
It's getting warmer out there, ambient temperatures up to 31.5C now.
No improvements currently on-track, as everyone continues with their validation work.
Antonelli, Norris, and Sainz decide to forget how to take the first chicane and all go off together.
Tsunoda, meanwhile, gets furious at Paul Aron being a bit recalcitrant into the Parabolica. The Estonian might get something of a Tallinn-off from the stewards...
(If you're reading the translated version of this text, that joke might not work. Apologies, but it was VERY funny.)
Iwasa got boxed in by weaving traffic on the run out of the second Lesmo, and not for the first time this weekend.
Hamilton goes third on mediums, 0.5s off Leclerc on that run.
Norris went a bit deep at the Ascari chicane, so his first effort on softs went a bit wasted.
McLaren has what it's calling its "H-wing" here this weekend - its version of the Ferrari Macarena wing.
Leclerc now sets a 1m23.008s to go top of the pile, this time on medium tyres - the Mercedes pair used softs.
Lawson is up to fourth, also on softs.
Antonelli sets a 1m23.644s to go top - briefly, as Russell then sets a 1m23.312s.
FP1 now resumes for business, and there's already plenty exiting the pit lane. The Mercedes duo got onto the road first, followed by Alonso, Ocon, and Hulkenberg.
So, the stoppage gives us time to read the Court of Appeal documents, all 26 pages of them.
To go into it, the pitlane timing loops used in Monaco determine the time it takes for the cars to reach each loop. From this, the average time is calculated - and due to an issue with the placement of the first loops, many drivers were pinged for going over the 60km/h speed limit - even if they had been on the pit limiter.
Since Gasly did not serve his penalties in-race, Alpine was able to argue the case that there was an error and proved that the Frenchman did not go above the speed limit.
However, those who had served their in-race penalties were naturally aggrieved as they understood that they had not gone over the speed limit either- hence the appeal.
It's a red flag as the car doesn't want to move. Herta was indeed told to stop the car.
Herta has stopped on track, so there's a yellow flag - now a VSC - at the Lesmos.
He has indeed stopped at the side of the road, helpfully by a marshal's post to clear the Cadillac. The car seems to be stuck in gear, so presumably a PU issue.
Back to the action: George Russell is up to first once more with a 1m23.802s, with Norris about 0.4s back.
Herta sets his first time of the session and goes 17th, while Hamilton puts another lap on his hard tyres and rises up to second...
...at least, until Norris posts a 1m23.719s to go top once more.
Gasly loses Monaco podium
The International Court of Appeal result is in, following an appeal over the results of the Monaco Grand Prix from McLaren and Red Bull.
If you'll remember, Alpine appealed the result after the race due to the pitlane speed limit issue, which got Gasly's post-race penalties rescinded and awarded him with third.
However, this has successfully appealed against, and Isack Hadjar's third place has been reinstated.
Antonelli loses time in the final sector to go up to third, having been incredibly rapid in the first sector - perhaps he'd over-deployed in the first half of the lap.
Russell got a bit sideways through the second chicane around his previous lap, and had to go again.
It's currently Lawson, from Piastri, from Leclerc, Antonelli, Norris, and Russell...or it was, as Hamilton threw down a 1m24.194s to go top.
Leclerc posts a 1m24.482s on the hard tyre to go fastest, which is then beaten by Lawson on a 1m24.383s.
Norris moves up to third, as Antonelli is finding plenty of time out there.
Lawson has put the soft tyre on and has done a 1m25.785s, slower than Russell's effort on the medium, as Antonelli does a 1m25.637s to go second - also on mediums.
This is then beaten by Piastri on a 1m25.333s.
Ocon has opened with a 1m30.541s, but we'll go much faster than that...
...and indeed, Leclerc posts a 1m26.873s, giving Ferrari's new engine a run-out, as George Russell then posts a 1m25.259s.
You can see the rear wings of this year's cars aren't quite as slender as we've seen before at Monza, and that's simply because we've got the straight line mode this year.
Leclerc's on-track in his Michael Schumacher tribute livery, waving to the crowd. Fernando Alonso has an Adrian Campos-inspired helmet livery for this weekend too.
Paul Aron hits the track, bearing an aero rake on that Alpine.
FP1 is away!
Iwasa and Herta, who crashed in F2 practice, are on-track. Ocon, Alonso, and Lindblad also join the fray.
It's warm at Monza, 30C outside, 49C track temperature.
Heat hazard has officially been declared for this weekend, so the drivers must either choose the cooling vest or the extra ballast in the car if they don't want to wear it.
Lawson, Tsunoda remain in place as Hadjar still unavailable
It's as we were in Zandvoort as Isack Hadjar is prioritising his recovery from a wrist injury; Liam Lawson stays with Red Bull, and Yuki Tsunoda is back in the Racing Bulls car.
We've also got some FP1-only rookies in for this session:
Ayumu Iwasa - takes Max Verstappen's Red Bull car
Luke Browning - driving Alex Albon's Williams
Paul Aron - in at Alpine for Pierre Gasly
Colton Herta - replacing Sergio Perez at Cadillac
Luke Browning, Williams
Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images
F1 races set to be shortened to 290km in 2027
Formula 1 grands prix are set to become shorter in 2027 as the series changes the balance between electrical and internal-combustion power.
The background to this is the widespread unpopularity of the latest technical regulations, in which electrical output and internal combustion engine power contribute equally to the total power.
The change follows criticism of the latest technical regulations, under which electrical and internal-combustion power contribute equally to total output. Drivers dislike the counter-intuitive driving style imposed by the constant need to harvest and deploy electrical energy; neither has the 'yo-yo’ racing caused by varying states of battery charge proved popular with the competitors.
Although the stakeholders agreed to move towards a 60:40 ratio in favour of internal combustion in 2028, with increased fuel flow, there will be an interim step of 58:42 next season.
The reason for this is that at the time, at least half the teams planned to carry over their 2026 chassis, making it impractical to enlarge the fuel tank.
Given the shift in balance of power output, increased fuel flow was required to enable the engines to contribute more. If they use more fuel they need to carry more, or shorten the races.
Will Monza lose its edge in 2026?
So here's the thing: in the early simulations of the 2026, most were worried that Monza would be a little bit lift-and-coasty this year, owing to the drain on the battery along the straights.
F1 has tried to minimise this effect, but the drivers are still preparing for a tough race as there's very few areas to recharge.
It's sad really, because I'm sure we'd all really like to celebrate F1 and talk about other things that aren't batteries, but here we are. Maybe it won't be that bad. I dunno.
Here's Lewis Hamilton with his recently acquired F40 to remind us of a motoring icon.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
Welcome to the Temple of Speed!
Hello everyone, and welcome to our live coverage of the Italian Grand Prix! As always, we'll take you through each session step by step!
FP1 is coming up soon, and there's a few things to talk about before the session kicks off!
Ferrari fans
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
