Russell tops busy FP3 in Monza

Credit: Formula One

George Russell went quickest during the final practice hour of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen completing the top three in a session filled with traffic and tows.

As it Happened

As the final practice session of the weekend was green flagged, Gabriel Bortoleto was the first car out after a slow start with cars still in the garages. Both upgraded Alpine cars were the next ones out, with Franco Colapinto giving Pierre Gasly a tow.

15 minutes into the session, the frontrunners remained in the pits, with Gasly holding the benchmark time after setting a 1:23.875, swiftly pipped by Colapinto with a 1:23.766.

Liam Lawson was the first of the top four teams to head out, slotting in four tenths behind the Alpine pair at the top, all three setting the lap times on medium tyres. 20 minutes down, Kimi Antonelli took the top spot with a 1:29.032, followed by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Down at the first chicane, Lawson had a spin after losing rear grip but managed to recover, however not without compromising the push laps of the two Ferrari drivers behind him.

Meanwhile, Leclerc’s first effort on the soft tyres that took him to second was deleted, for going off at the second Lesmo. After going again, the Ferrari driver climbed back up with second, two tenths behind Antonelli’s benchmark.

With half an hour up, several drivers were struggling on track, including Verstappen with a lock-up and Oscar Piastri bailing out after a similar issue at the first chicane. Piastri’s next attempt took him only to ninth, without the all-important tow at this circuit. 

At the sharp end of the field, the times began to tumble as Lewis Hamilton pumped in the quickest final sector to go third and Russell went fastest overall after a well-timed tow from Antonelli, who will be starting the Grand Prix from the back of the grid after an engine penalty.

Leclerc then improved to third behind Russell’s effort of 1:22.687 and three tenths adrift of Antonelli. Hamilton’s next push lap took him ahead of Leclerc.

Traffic remained an obstacle for drivers, as Russell impeded Lawson and Esteban Ocon with, forcing Lawson to take evading action through the gravel.

Meanwhile Leclerc went second fastest, splitting the Mercedes pair at the top, but Russell, Antonelli and Verstappen proceeded to go quicker with 10 minutes to go. Lindblad then went third quickest, unleashing the same impressive performance from Friday’s practice session here.

As the minutes ticked down, several drivers continued to improve on their qualifying simulations, with Russell leading the pack followed by Antonelli, Leclerc, Lindblad, Lando Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Colapinto and Nico Hülkenberg in 10th.

Soon after, Hamilton improved up to second and Verstappen climbed to third, while Russell remained on top. The Mercedes driver then came under heat for impeding yet another car, this time Piastri at the first Lesmo.

As the chequered flag came out, Russell’s lap time of 1:22.219 went unchallenged, as Hamilton and Verstappen joined him as the top three quickest drivers of FP3, the two former rivals in a scrap as they crossed the line.

Antonelli slotted in fourth, followed by Norris, Leclerc, Lindblad, Piastri, Gasly and Colapinto to round out the top 10 of the final practice hour before qualifying.

Looking Ahead

Russell remains the driver to beat, and with Antonelli's impending grid drop, it was not doubt a quick decision for Mercedes to have Antonelli give his teammate the tow. Similar conversations will be happening across different teams, and only time will tell which drivers will get the advantage, especially in Ferrari's case.

With qualifying up next and several drivers in the mix for pole, it's set to be another frantic session in Monza under the Italian sun.