The Italian Grand Prix got off to a fiery start on Friday with Charles Leclerc and Ferrari setting the pace during a red-flagged opening practice session at the Temple of Speed. Leclerc clocked the fastest lap of 1:23.008 on medium tyres, leading a Ferrari one-two finish with Lewis Hamilton settling into second place just 0.173 seconds adrift. The Prancing Horse brought a new upgraded engine to Monza, the ADUO2 unit, which Ferrari reckon is worth 0.2 seconds around the circuit with an extra 15 horsepower in their pocket.

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Conditions at Monza were absolutely brutal with air temperatures hovering around 33 degrees Celsius, creating a heat hazard warning for the paddock. Despite the sweltering conditions, Lando Norris and McLaren started strong with the defending champion setting early pace before Leclerc and Hamilton flexed their muscle. The session didn't run smoothly though, with Colton Herta grinding to a halt in Sergio Perez's Cadillac, forcing the red flag as marshals extracted the stuck car from the Della Roggia chicane.

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Drama erupted across the grid with several drivers finding the gravel at Turn 1 including Norris, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Carlos Sainz all going deep into the Rettifilo chicane. Luke Browning in Alex Albon's Williams and Oliver Bearman of Haas also had their moments in the same spot. Meanwhile, the Red Bull drama continued as Liam Lawson stepped in for the injured Isack Hadjar and immediately complained about his car's unstable balance, struggling to get the RB22 sorted despite running soft tyres.

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Things got spicy between reserve drivers too, as Red Bull's Ayumu Iwasa took issue with Alpine's Paul Aron after the pair clashed on the kerbs early in the session. Yuki Tsunoda also vented on the radio about traffic while standing in for Lawson at Racing Bulls. By the end of the session, Lawson had climbed to fourth but was clearly frustrated with his car's power delivery and overall balance around the high-speed Monza circuit, sitting 0.425 seconds off Leclerc's pace despite the soft compound advantage.

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