News summary
- Liam Lawson believes Red Bull is behind its main rivals in downforce at Monza, despite a productive Friday of practice.
- The New Zealander finished fourth in FP1 and 12th in FP2, with the team prioritizing race simulations over qualifying preparation.
- Lawson expects Red Bull to focus on qualifying pace on Saturday after gathering data from long runs during Friday’s sessions.
For the second consecutive race, Red Bull lined up with Liam Lawson alongside Max Verstappen after Isack Hadjar was ruled out of the Italian GP because of his wrist injury. After Friday’s 2 practice sessions at Monza, Lawson was encouraged by the work completed but admitted that Red Bull does not appear to have the same downforce potential as its main rivals.
Lawson finished fourth in FP1 and 12th in FP2, with the second session ultimately led by George Russell ahead of Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Red Bull driver said the team prioritized long-run work rather than outright qualifying performance, meaning Saturday should provide a clearer picture of where the RB22 stands over a single lap.
“It was a productive day. We were focused on the race simulations, especially in FP2,” Lawson said.
“We did a lot of laps, but we didn’t do many qualifying tests, so I imagine that’s what we’ll focus on tomorrow,” he continued.
Compared with the leading cars, however, Lawson identified a clear limitation at the Temple of Speed.
“Compared to the front-runners, we’re definitely not at the same level in terms of what they can do with downforce here. But we learned some good things! Now it’s about trying to do what we can tomorrow,” Lawson concluded.
Red Bull’s Friday was mixed. Verstappen finished ninth in FP2, 0.818s behind Russell, while Lawson ended the session 12th, 1.101s off the Mercedes benchmark.
The gap is particularly relevant at Monza, where teams run low-downforce configurations to maximize speed on the circuit’s long straights. Red Bull will therefore need to find additional performance without compromising its race setup.
Lawson’s comments also reinforce the importance of Saturday’s qualifying preparation. While the team concentrated on race simulations during FP2, the fight at the front remains extremely tight, with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all showing competitive pace on Friday.
GRANDE PRÊMIO will continue to follow all the action from the Italian GP, the 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
AQ
1. What time is F1 qualifying at Monza?
Italian GP qualifying is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, September 5. The session will determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
2. How did Red Bull perform in Italian GP FP2?
Max Verstappen finished ninth and Liam Lawson 12th in FP2. Verstappen was 0.818s behind George Russell, while Lawson was 1.101s off the pace.
3. Is Max Verstappen still in the 2026 F1 title fight?
Yes. Verstappen remains in contention for the 2026 Drivers’ Championship, although Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the standings heading into the Italian GP weekend.
