FP3: Russell goes fastest from Hamilton and Verstappen in final Italy practice

George Russell ended a busy final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix on top of the timesheets, the Mercedes driver going fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

In what would prove to be an action-packed hour, Russell worked his way down to a 1m 22.219s to maintain his momentum after leading the way in Friday’s second practice.

It was a quiet start to Saturday’s session when the green light appeared at 1230 local time, with the Audi pair of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg initially having the track to themselves during the opening moments before the Alpines joined the action soon afterwards.

Meanwhile there was early trouble for Alex Albon, who reported an issue with his steering wheel that saw his car wheeled back into the Williams garage. As the action picked up, the problem appeared to have been resolved as the Thai driver joined other drivers on an increasingly busy track.

Pierre Gasly had gone fastest after the opening 15 minutes, with many of the frontrunning cars still to head out. Elsewhere, Ferrari sent Charles Leclerc and Hamilton out a few minutes later in a welcome sight for the watching Tifosi, both cars sporting the soft tyres.

Kimi Antonelli soon shot to the top of the timesheets, the Mercedes driver setting a lap of 1m 23.032s on a weekend in which he will start from the back of the field due to a grid penalty for a planned engine change.

The yellow flags were briefly thrown when Liam Lawson suffered a spin into the first chicane, the Red Bull driver reporting struggles with “the rear in low speed”. Albon, meanwhile, had been issued with a warning for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions regarding the escape road.

Antonelli remained on top as the final practice hour reached its halfway point, the Italian two tenths clear of Leclerc while Gasly followed in third. Other drivers sounded less happy, with Oscar Piastri having to take to the escape road after a lock-up into the first corner before sarcastically commenting that things were “great”.

Russell was the next to go fastest on a 1m 22.697s, going three tenths quicker than his team mate – but the Briton still had to contend with traffic soon afterwards, radioing in that there was nothing he could do after getting caught up in a group of cars.

As the final 15 minutes of the session ticked down, the likes of Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen were amongst the first to bolt on fresh soft tyres for their closing laps, leading to a flurry of quicker times going on the board.

Meanwhile Williams were utilising the power of the tow, with Albon – who, like Antonelli, will start from the back due to engine penalties – towing Carlos Sainz in a move that they will be hoping to gain from later in Qualifying. Separately, it was confirmed that both drivers will be investigated after the session for a yellow flag infringement.

Elsewhere Verstappen was voicing his annoyance after feeling that a Ferrari was “always in the way” ahead of him amid a very busy track. Russell had been noted for potentially impeding Piastri, before the stewards decided that no further investigation was necessary.

There was a feisty moment between former title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen, with Hamilton overtaking before the pair went side-by-side down the main straight and engaged in a tense moment into Turn 2, sparking unhappy comments from both on the radio. The incident was noted by the stewards, but it was subsequently not investigated.

Ultimately Russell remained on top with his effort of 1m 22.219s, two tenths clear of Hamilton in second with Verstappen third. Antonelli placed in fourth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris fifth and Leclerc sixth, while Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, Piastri, Gasly and the sister Alpine of Franco Colapinto completing the top 10.

Hulkenberg was 11th ahead of Lawson, Bortoleto, Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls, Sainz, the other Haas of Esteban Ocon and Albon. At the back of the order were the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in 19th and 22nd respectively, with the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez separating them.

With the final practice hour complete, the attentions of the Monza paddock will now switch to Qualifying, which is set to get underway at 1600 local time.