Mercedes and Ferrari split Friday pace in Italian GP practice
Ferrari and Mercedes shared the headline times across Friday practice for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc led the opening session before George Russell went fastest in FP2, while late long-run data offered no clear favourite for race pace.
Friday practice for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix produced mixed signals at the front. Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on top in the opening session, but Mercedes responded in the second practice session with George Russell setting the fastest time.
The long runs at the end of FP2 drew particular attention because they are viewed as an important guide to Sunday's race pace. Even so, the available picture remained inconclusive, with no clear standout emerging between Mercedes and Ferrari.
Across the day, the practice results and the takeaways from the sessions pointed to a closely matched contest rather than a firm hierarchy. Based on Friday's running alone, the competitive order heading into the rest of the Monza weekend was still difficult to define.
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