Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two in Italian Grand Prix first practice at Monza, clocking 1:23.008s to beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.173s. Mercedes' George Russell was third, a further tenth behind Hamilton. World championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes after taking a grid penalty for exceeding engine part limits.

Ferrari debuted their second permitted engine upgrade at their home race, alongside circuit-specific chassis improvements, aiming to close the gap to Red Bull and Mercedes power units. Leclerc and Hamilton set their best times on medium tyres, while Russell used the softer compound. Liam Lawson impressed with fourth for Red Bull, standing in for injured Isack Hadjar and alongside rookie Ayumu Iwasa in Verstappen's car.

Paul Aron was the top rookie in 10th for Alpine. Colton Herta's Cadillac run ended due to a technical issue, and Luke Browning was 15th for Williams. Antonelli leads the standings by 59 points over Russell and Hamilton, with Lando Norris 83 points behind in fourth after winning the last two races.