FP2 at the 2026 F1 Italian GP at the legendary Monza circuit has been completed, view the full report from the session here.
In FP1 earlier in the day, Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari 1-2 from Lewis Hamilton. George Russell was in 3rd, ahead of a fast Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli. McLaren struggled, with Lando Norris only 6th and Oscar Piastri down in P11.
The lead rookie was Paul Aron as the Alpine junior finished up in an impressive P10, just over a tenth slower than Franco Colapinto. Ayumu Iwasa, Colton Herta and Luke Browning also ran in the session. Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Alex Albon returned to their cockpits for the second session.
Green flag for FP2 at the 2026 F1 Italian GP
Franco Colapinto posted the first time on a 1:25.174 using the hard tyre.
The Mercedes and Ferraris quickly appeared and went fast. Kimi Antonelli logged a 1:23.417 to beat Leclerc by 0.055. Russell, Hamilton and Norris completed the top 5. The two Mercs and the McLaren driver were on hards, with the Ferraris on mediums.
Down at turn 1, Alex Albon locked up his front right and had to go straight on. Leclerc did the same soon after. Lewis Hamilton joined in during the qualifying simulations.
As Lando Norris started a new lap, Lance Stroll moved back on the racing line before the first chicane after he had let the Audi through. The Brit had to take to the grass to avoid a big crash.
At the front, George Russell put in a 1:23.202 on the hard tyre to outpace Kimi Antonelli by 0.215s. Arvid Lindblad was flying in the Racing Bulls, going 3rd on the mediums. Leclerc, Lawson, Verstappen, Bortoleto, Norris, Hamilton and Piastri completed the top 10 at the 20-minute mark.
Soft tyres appear
Heading for a P1 lap on softs, Kimi Antonelli was blocked by an Audi in Parabolica and had to abort. On his second go, he went fastest on a 1:22.700. George Russell responded to go quicker by 0.014s, despite a big slide out of Ascari.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pumped in a 1:22.679 to go P1, until George Russell came back as he logged a 1:21.559 to reclaim top spot. Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Lindblad, Bearman, Verstappen and Tsunoda completed the top 10 after the qualifying sims. 0.896s covered the top 10.
At the second chicane, Gabriel Bortoleto lost the rear on entry, had a big drift and was forced to cut it but avoided any kind of spin or crash. On the exit of the same spot, Charles Leclerc had a big spin and was lucky to avoid ending up in the gravel as the Ferrari did not take the kerb on exit very well.
The Brazilian was forced to pit as the race sims were underway due to an engine issue in his Audi.
Meanwhile, Franco Colapinto had a massive slide through the last part of Ascari, ending up in the gravel on the right hand side, although he avoided the wall. The Argentinian driver continued on.
![The 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) season returns from the summer break at Monza for the Italian GP, with [Driver Name] claiming pole in Qualifying.](https://www.pitdebrief.com/wp-content/uploads/HRXxZDoXkAMe6Wg.jpg)