Christian Costoya set the pace in the first group. The Spanish Prema Racing driver, who is part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, posted a best lap of 1’49.518, beating compatriot Edward Robinson by 0.336 seconds and 2026 Champion Luka Sammalisto by 0.338. Both US Racing drivers completed the top three. Van Amersfoort Racing's British driver Thomas Bearman was fourth, 0.762 seconds off the pace, followed by Trident Motorsport's Swiss driver Florentin Hattemer, 0.908 seconds behind.
Ary Bansal, also representing US Racing, finished sixth at 0.982 seconds, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport's Mexican driver Nicolas Cortes, who was 0.994 seconds off the pace.
Van Amersfoort Racing's Alex Ruta was eighth at 0.997 seconds, the last driver to finish within one second of the fastest time.
The overall fastest time of the morning came in the second group, with Kenzo Craigie setting a best lap of 1’49.398. The British R-ace GP driver, a member of the Mercedes Junior Programme, has already secured the E4 Championship title this year and arrives at Mugello as one of the contenders for the Rookie class title.
Jenzer Motorsport's German driver Elia Weiss was second, 0.453 seconds behind, followed by Craigie's fellow Mercedes junior and R-ace GP teammate, Frenchman Andy Consani, at 0.458. Trident Motorsport's Dominik Simek took fourth place at 0.488, while Prema Racing's Romanian driver David Cosma-Cristof completed the top five at 0.501. US Racing's Australian driver Noah Killion was sixth at 0.553, ahead of Prema Racing's Turkish driver Alp Aksoy, 0.594 seconds off the pace. Eighth place went to US Racing's Sicilian driver Ludovico Busso at 0.611, followed by teammate Oleksandr Savinkov. ACI Team Italia's Iacopo Martinese, competing with US Racing, completed the top ten.
The drivers will return to the track today, Friday, October 30, for the second free practice session, with 25 minutes available to each group, starting at 11:15. Qualifying will follow in the afternoon from 15:10, with a 20-minute session for each group.
The qualifying results will determine the composition of the three groups for the qualifying races. Race 1, featuring Groups B and C, will get underway on Saturday, October 31, at 10:05, followed by Race 2, with Groups A and B, at 14:40. Sunday's schedule, November 1, will begin at 08:40 with Race 3, featuring Groups A and C. The 2026 season will then come to a close with the Final at 12:15, reserved for the top 36 drivers from the qualifying races.
All races will run over 25 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live on ACI Sport TV and the championship's social media channels, as well as through the international broadcaster network bringing the Italian F4 Championship to fans around the world.