Italian Grand Prix 2026 – Friday

The first day of the Italian Grand Prix 2026 at Monza has come to a close, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli putting in a solid performance for their team. George finished the day as the fastest driver, while Kimi came in third. Kimi, who will start from the back of the grid due to a power unit penalty, focused on long runs, while George had a more balanced program. Both drivers used the medium and hard tire compounds during the two practice sessions. Although they didn’t end the day at the top of the time sheets, the overhauled Ferrari showed itself to be competitive on both a single lap and on long runs. George Russell expressed his satisfaction with the day’s performance, stating that the team had accomplished a lot and seemed to have a good pace. However, he also acknowledged that there was still work to be done overnight. Kimi Antonelli was also pleased with the day’s performance, particularly with the support of the fans. He mentioned that the team had focused on optimizing their race pace, given their starting position, and had collected a lot of data. Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director, also gave a positive assessment of the day, stating that the team had a good Friday and that the car was on a good path. He also mentioned that the programs of the two cars were quite different, with George following a standard program and Kimi focusing on race preparation due to his power unit penalty. The team is now looking forward to analyzing the data and making further improvements for the rest of the weekend.