{"id":44786,"date":"2026-09-03T17:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/44786\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:57:11","slug":"f1-italian-gp-friday-schedule-weather-forecast-and-how-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/44786\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 Italian GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formula 1 heads to Monza this weekend for the Italian GP, with Ferrari chasing home glory and\u00a0Kimi Antonelli<\/a> facing a difficult race in front of his own crowd.<\/p>\n

The Mercedes driver arrives as Italy\u2019s main home hope and with a 59-point lead over George Russell<\/a> and Lewis Hamilton<\/a>, but an engine change means he is set to start at the back of the grid, regardless of his qualifying result. That turns the weekend into a damage-limitation exercise for\u00a0Antonelli at a circuit where overtaking should at least be possible.<\/p>\n

Ferrari also has plenty at stake at its home grand\u00a0prix, with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc<\/a> chasing a Monza result in front of the tifosi. The team\u00a0is expected to bring power unit and aerodynamic updates for the Italian GP as it tries to keep its championship hopes alive.<\/p>\n

Lando Norris<\/a> arrives with momentum after winning the last two grands prix in Hungary and the Netherlands, but Monza should give McLaren a very different test. The low-downforce circuit places a premium on straightline speed, drag efficiency, braking stability and energy deployment.<\/p>\n

Friday brings two practice sessions, with free practice 1 followed by free practice 2 later in the afternoon. Here is everything you need to know ahead of Friday\u2019s running at the Italian GP.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

How can I watch the F1 Italian GP?<\/p>\n

Broadcast coverage of Formula 1 varies by region.<\/p>\n

In the United States, Apple TV is the primary broadcast partner for the 2026 season, with all sessions available on the platform following a multi-year deal. F1 TV remains the series\u2019 global subscription streaming service.<\/p>\n

For viewers in the United Kingdom, Sky Sports continues as the championship\u2019s exclusive broadcaster, showing every session live throughout the 2026 season. F1 coverage can also be streamed via Sky Go or NOW, with highlights available free-to-air on Channel 4.<\/p>\n

Motorsport.com will provide live coverage and updates throughout the Italian GP weekend.<\/a><\/p>\n

F1 Italian GP Friday schedule<\/p>\n

Times local to Monza:<\/p>\n

Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 1 \u2014 12:30pm CEST
Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 2 \u2014 4:00pm CEST<\/p>\n

For UK viewers:<\/p>\n

Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 1 \u2014 11:30am BST
Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 2 \u2014 3:00pm BST<\/p>\n

For US Eastern Time viewers:<\/p>\n

Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 1 \u2014 6:30am ET
Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 2 \u2014 10:00am ET<\/p>\n

F1 Italian GP full weekend schedule<\/p>\n

All times local to Monza:<\/p>\n

Friday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 1 \u2014 12:30pm CEST
\nFriday, September 4 \u2014 free practice 2 \u2014 4:00pm CEST
\nSaturday, September 5 \u2014 free practice 3 \u2014 12:30pm CEST
\nSaturday, September 5 \u2014 qualifying \u2014 4:00pm CEST
\nSunday, September 6 \u2014 2026 Italian Grand Prix \u2014 3:00pm CEST<\/p>\n

\"Cars <\/p>\n

Cars and Lightning McQueen liveried Track Vehicles on track<\/p>\n

Photo by: James Sutton \/ Formula 1 \/ Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Italian GP Friday weather forecast<\/p>\n

Friday is expected to be very hot and sunny at Monza, with temperatures climbing into the mid-30s Celsius. FIA has issued a heat hazard warning ahead of the GP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That should give teams dry and stable running for both practice sessions, but the heat could make tyre behaviour, cooling and brake management key early themes. Monza\u2019s long straights and heavy braking zones already punish the cars, and high temperatures could make Friday\u2019s set-up work especially important.<\/p>\n

Saturday is also expected to be very hot and mostly sunny for final practice and qualifying.<\/p>\n

Sunday is forecast to remain hot for the Italian Grand Prix, so race pace, tyre life and cooling could all become major factors.<\/p>\n

Italian GP track facts<\/p>\n

Circuit: Monza
\nLocation: Monza, Italy
\nEvent: Italian GP<\/a>
\nCircuit type: permanent road course
\nFriday sessions: free practice 1 and free practice 2
\nSaturday sessions: free practice 3 and qualifying
\nRace: Sunday, September 6<\/p>\n

Monza is Formula 1\u2019s Temple of Speed, with long straights, heavy braking zones and\u00a0low-downforce demands that place a premium on efficiency, power and confidence under braking.<\/p>\n

2026 Formula 1 driver and team roster<\/p>\n

*Hadjar is injured for the Italian GP so is replaced by Lawson at Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> stepping in at Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n

Photos from F1 Italian GP – Thursday<\/p>\n

We want your opinion!<\/p>\n

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n

Take our 5 minute survey.<\/a><\/p>\n

– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1 heads to Monza this weekend for the Italian GP, with Ferrari chasing home glory and\u00a0Kimi Antonelli…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7477,6288,8997,29137,2599,101,14901,5,4646,6174,28659,3160,6286,29138],"class_list":["post-44786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-autodromo-nazionale-monza","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-f1-italian-gp-friday-schedule","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-italian-gp","tag-italy","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mclaren","tag-mercedes","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-weather-forecast-and-how-to-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}