George Russell finished a busy final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix at the top of the timesheets, the Mercedes driver fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. In what turned out to be an action-packed hour, Russell dropped to 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 12:30 local time, with the Audi pairing of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg initially having the track to themselves for the first few moments before the Alpines joined the action soon after. Meanwhile, there were early problems for Alex Albon, who reported a problem with his steering wheel which saw his car return to the Williams garage. As the action intensified, the issue appeared to have been resolved as the Thai driver joined other drivers on an increasingly crowded track. Pierre Gasly had been fastest after the first 15 minutes, and many of the leading cars had not yet started. Elsewhere, Ferrari sent out Charles Leclerc and Hamilton a few minutes later in a welcome sight for the Tifosi watching, both cars sporting soft tyres. Kimi Antonelli soon rose 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. Yellow flags were briefly thrown when Liam Lawson suffered a spin at the first chicane, the Red Bull driver reporting problems with “the rear end at low speed”. Meanwhile, Albon had received a warning for not following the race director’s instructions regarding the escape route. Antonelli remained on top as the final hour of practice reached its halfway point, the Italian two tenths ahead of Leclerc, while Gasly followed in third. Other drivers seemed less happy, with Oscar Piastri having to take the escape route after a lock-up in the first corner before sarcastically commenting that things were “great”. Russell was next fastest with a time of 1m 22.697s, going three tenths quicker than his team-mate, but the Briton still had to deal with traffic soon after, radioing that there was nothing he could do after getting stuck in a group of cars. As the final 15 minutes of the session ticked down, the likes of Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen were among the first to put on new soft tires for their final laps, sparking a flurry of faster times on the board. Meanwhile, Williams were using the power of the tow, with Albon, who, like Antonelli, will start from the back due to engine penalties, dragging Carlos Sainz in a move they hope to capitalize on later in qualifying. On the other hand, it was confirmed that both drivers will be investigated after the session for a yellow flag violation. Separately, Verstappen expressed his annoyance after feeling like a Ferrari was “always in the way” in front of him in the middle of a busy track. Russell had been known to potentially impede Piastri, before stewards decided that no further investigation was necessary. There was a moment of fighting between former title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen, with Hamilton overtaking before the pair walked side by side on the main straight and became involved in a tense moment at Turn 2, prompting disgruntled comments from both on the radio. The flight attendants became aware of the incident, but it was not subsequently investigated. In the end, Russell remained on top with his effort of 1m 22.219s, two tenths ahead of Hamilton in second and Verstappen third. Antonelli placed fourth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris fifth and Leclerc sixth, while Arvid Lindblad, Piastri, Racing Bulls’ Gasly and Franco Colapinto’s Alpine sister completed the top 10. Hulkenberg was 11th ahead of Lawson, Bortoleto, Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda in Racing Bulls, Sainz, the other Haas of Esteban Ocon and Albon. At the bottom 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 Pérez separating them. With the final hour of practice completed, the attention of the Monza paddock will now turn to qualifying, which will begin at 16:00 local time.
