George Russell tops busy final practice at Italian Grand Prix

Mercedes George Russell topped the final hour of practice ahead of qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix, pipping Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at Monza.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

It was a busy final hour at the Temple of Speed as drivers tested out the slipstream tows and honed in on their final set-up tweaks before qualifying later on in the day. However, it was Russell who stood on top of the timesheets with a 1m 22.219s lap around the iconic circuit.

The Mercedes driver sat 0.226 seconds faster than his former teammate, and now Ferrari championship rival, Lewis Hamilton, who occupied second, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rounding out the podium in third.

Only 0.350 seconds separated the top three in its entirety, from Russell to Verstappen.

No one was eager to head straight out when the pit exit light turned green, but after a few moments, both Audis ventured out on out laps before immediately returning to the pits. From there, the Alpine of Gasly was the next to fall out onto the circuit before the rest started to dribble out.

Red Bull’s Liam Lawson – who remains as a substitute for the injured Isack Hadjar – brought out the yellow flag early on in the session. The Kiwi spun out on the track at the opening chicane, with problems with the rear of his Red Bull at low speed. He was able to continue after a moment stopped on the turn one and two run-off.

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Several drivers were unhappy with the busy track, with the likes of Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri tripping over each other, with the stewards deeming no further action was needed for a potential impeding incident by the Australian.

Verstappen had frequently showcased his displeasure at a Ferrari getting in his way throughout the session, which seemed to boil over at the end of the session.

In the last minutes, Hamilton had overtaken the Red Bull driver into the Parabolica, which Verstappen bolted after him, and the two were drag racing down the pit straight. Neither driver yielded until Verstappen forced Hamilton onto the opening chicane run-off, with Hamilton then blocking Verstappen on re-entry to the track.

Momentum looks to be on Russell’s side, having topped back-to-back practice sessions in Monza, following Friday’s second practice. Will he be able to convert it into pole position during qualifying at 4pm local time?

FP3 Classification

1. George Russell, Mercedes – 1m 22.219s
2. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.226s
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +0.35s
4. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.361s
5. Lando Norris, McLaren +0.406s
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.489s
7. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +0.505s
8. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.554s
9. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +0.679s 
10. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +0.882s
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +0.907s
12. Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing +0.984s 
13. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.079s
14. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.366s
15. Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls +1.598s
16. Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.656s
17. Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.801s
18. Alexander Albon, Williams +2.218s
19. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +2.7s
20. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +2.785s
21. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.812s
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +3.336s

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.