Friday was busy in Monza, with the opening of the Formula 1 Italian GP and a great Brazilian result in Formula 2. George Russell ended the day as the fastest in F1, Ferrari showed strength in front of its fans, and Rafael Câmara took pole for the main F2 race, reducing his gap to the championship lead.
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Ferrari started the weekend strong. Charles Leclerc led FP1 with 1m23.008s and led a one-two with Lewis Hamilton, while Russell appeared third. In FP2, however, Mercedes responded: the Briton set 1m22.559s and beat Leclerc by just 0.120s, with Kimi Antonelli completing the top three.
The first readings leave Mercedes and Ferrari in a strong position for Saturday’s qualifying. Russell ended Friday as the benchmark, but Leclerc was among the top two in both sessions. McLaren was further back in FP2, with Lando Norris fourth and Oscar Piastri sixth, while Max Verstappen finished only ninth in his only session of the day after handing the car to Ayumu Iwasa in FP1.
Gabriel Bortoleto experienced a day of contrasts. The Brazilian started well, putting Audi eighth in FP1 and finishing ahead of teammate Nico Hülkenberg. In FP2, he improved his absolute time to 1m23.776s but couldn’t make the most of the Soft tires and had an engine failure at the end of the session, ending the practice in 15th.
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In Formula 2, Rafa Câmara was one of the day’s big highlights. The Invicta Racing driver set 1m31.326s and took his fifth pole in ten rounds of the season. With the two points earned in qualifying, he matched the points of vice-leader Gabriele Minì and reduced the gap to Nikola Tsolov at the top to 20 points. “It was a good pole position after the summer break,” said the Brazilian, highlighting that the result still needs to be converted in the races.
Off the track, a decision by the FIA International Court of Appeal also changed the championship. Pierre Gasly’s two five-second penalties at the Monaco GP were reinstated, dropping the Frenchman from third to seventh and returning the podium to Isack Hadjar. The review also promoted Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, and Arvid Lindblad to fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
The Italian GP continues this Saturday with FP3 at 07:30 and qualifying at 11:00, Brasília time (GMT -3). The race takes place on Sunday at 10:00.
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