George Russell topped the timing sin the last Free Practice session of the Formula 1 Italian GP weekend.
Charles Leclerc finished the first Free Practice session of the weekend on top, while George Russell topped the times in FP2. FP3 saw a repeat of the top spot as Russell once again came blasting through.
With Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the backfoot on home soil as the Mercedes driver took an engine penalty, which left the door open for the rest of the pack to seize ahead. George Russell in particular could have an important weekend on his hands as his teammate was to start the race from the back of the grid.
Early moments of FP3
Gabriel Bortoleto was eager to be first out on track for FP3. While the rest of the drivers took their time before they headed out, the Audi driver was followed by his teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
Five minutes in, Alex Albon reported that something was ‘wrong’ with his steering wheel. The Williams driver was rolled back into the garage to identify the potential issue. Meanwhile, Franco Colapinto had a brief dip in the gravel on his first lap at the Temple of Speed.
The teams were split between tyres as some teams opted for the medium tyre on their first runs, while others such as Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, and Antonelli headed out on the soft tyre early on.
Both Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon were noted for failure to follow race directors insructions for the escape road.
Meanwhile, Antonelli set an early benchmark of 1:23.0.32 on soft tyres while Charles Leclerc followed two-tenths behind. Ferrari Teammate Lewis Hamilton ran wide and took a dip in the gravel. As Oscar Piastri looked to lose the rear end of the MCL40 for a moment before he straightened out.
Another driver who had a moment was Liam Lawson. Lawson suffered a spin in the middle of Prima Variante after he took a bit too much of the kerb. But he managed to spin back around, avoid the barriers, and continue to the Red Bull pit.
Nearing the halfway point, Piastri communicated that he wanted a tow. The McLaren driver reported over the radio that his run was ‘ridiculous’. Historically, a tow was a great advantage in Monza, especially in the final corner.
Second half of the session
As the session had hit the halfway point, the benchmark was still Antonelli’s earlier time. He edged out Leclerc in second, and Pierre Gasly in third 0.384 seconds behind on mediums.
Piastri let his frustration out as he kept finding the escape road. The McLarens did not look to be the strongest through the session thus far, with Piastri in 12th and Lando Norris in 8th.
As many drivers kept being forced onto the escape road, Max Verstappen also had a moment that led him there. Still, the four time World Champion was quick to go again and improve his time. He found himself six hundreds behind the Mercedes of Antonelli, still with plenty time left.
George Russell took over the top spot from teammate Antonelli after he set an impressive new benchmark of 1:22.687. He had a moment with both Lawson and Esteban Ocon after failing to take the racing line. Luckily, all three drivers managed to avoid contact.
In the closing stages of the session, Max Verstappen improved in the final sector on new soft tyres. Despite his improvement, he still found himself three tenths away from the Mercedes on top. Rookie Arvid Lindblad grabbed the fasest time in the final sector after going purple. Impressively, the Brition put himself ahead of the Red Bull driver. Sergio Perez had a moment in the gravel but was able to save the car.
After the drivers went for their final soft tyre runs, the field had narrow gaps. Piastri’s day worsened as he was impeded by Russell in the final moments of the session, but the stewards chose not to investigate the incident.
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