Gabriel Bortoleto opened Friday (4) of practice for the 2026 Italian GP of Formula 1, in Monza, with eighth place in the first free practice of the weekend. The Audi driver showed good development throughout the session, despite having done few laps on track, and finished with 1min24s006, staying within the same second as leader Charles Leclerc. Check out how TL1 went:
Read more F1: Check the full result of TL1 of the 2026 Italian GP
Track opened and Bortoleto went out immediately with a set of medium tires.
After the warm-up lap, the Brazilian started his session with 1min44s858, still a high time. Then, he returned to the pits.
Bortoleto returned to the track with 45 minutes still on the clock and the same set of medium tires. He recorded 1min26s307 and placed himself among the top 15 at that moment.
After a red flag moment caused by Colton Herta, from Cadillac, the Brazilian returned to the track, still on mediums, and recorded 1min24s599, placing himself in 11th position.
Read more F1: Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two in Italy GP TL1; Bortoleto is 8th
After 11 laps, Bortoleto returned to the pits.
In the final ten minutes, Audi sent the Brazilian back to the track with soft tires. He jumped to eighth position by recording 1min24s006.
Bortoleto continued practicing laps on the soft tire range and finished the session with the previously obtained time, finishing in eighth place, 1min020s behind Charles Leclerc, who led the session with Ferrari. Additionally, the Brazilian was 0.620 seconds faster than his teammate, the German Nico Hülkenberg.
The second free practice of F1 in Monza takes place later this Friday, at 11:00, with live coverage from F1MANIA.NET.
Read more F3: Giusti pulls 1-2-3 for MP Motorsport in the only free practice in Italy
