George Russell was quickest at the end of free practice 3 ahead of this year’s Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver’s time of 1.22.219s put him just over two tenths clear of the field. It wasn’t all plain sailing for Russell as he went wide at turn five in FP1 and later impeded Oscar Piastri in FP3. After topping two of the three free practice sessions, Russell looks set to be a major contender this weekend. An opportunity he desperately needs given the 59 points that seperate him from the championship lead.
Behind him, Lewis Hamilton endured an uneven free practice. The seven-time world champion ended the first session second behind his teammate Charles Leclerc before running wide at turn seven and setting the fifth-fastest time in FP2. Hamilton even had a skirmish with his old sparring partner Max Verstappen in FP3. Ferrari have brought a special one-off livery to Monza this year, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the great Michael Schumacher’s first year with the team and will be keen to impress in front of their rabid home crowd. As a result, both Leclerc and Hamilton will be ones to watch going into qualifying.
Verstappen’s troubled relationship with the Red Bull RB22 looks set to continue. The four-time world champion reported downforce issues in FP2 and ended the final session with the third-fastest time. Having reinforced his commitment to Red Bull with a new contract extension, Verstappen will be keen to see improvements at the earliest.
Kimi Antonelli ended FP3 in fourth, but his time in practice was more about running time and race prep than it was a search for one-lap pace. The championship leader will start his home race from the back of the grid, having exceeded his quota of power units. Antonelli ran wide at turn three in the final session but otherwise had a largely trouble-free run.
Fresh off back-to-back victories in Hungary and Zandvoort (as well as a new contract that will keep him with McLaren until at least 2030), Lando Norris had a comparatively disappointing free practice. The reigning world champion was impeded by Lance Stroll in FP2 and ended FP3 in fifth. Having found an impressive turn of pace in the last two rounds, McLaren appears to be playing catch-up at Monza.
Charles Leclerc topped FP1, suffered a spin in FP2 and managed the sixth-fastest time in FP3 ahead of Arvid Lindblad, who underlined RB’s continued strong form in seventh. Oscar Piastri was one of many drivers to overshoot the first chicane en route to P8 ahead of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, the latter having signed for another year with Alpine prior to this weekend.
Nico Hulkenberg ended FP3 in 11th ahead of Liam Lawson, who will make his second appearance for Red Bull this season as Isack Hadjar continues his recovery from a broken wrist. Gabriel Bortoleto was 13th ahead of Ollie Bearman and Yuki Tsunoda, who returns to RB for this weekend.
Carlos Sainz set the 16th-fastest time ahead of Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon, who had a delayed start to the final part of practice due to steering issues. Fresh off his best result of the season last time out at Zandvoort, Fernando Alonso could only manage 19th at Monza ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll.
Mercedes appear to have the initial edge. However, with Ferrari keen to impress and Antonelli down the order, this weekend could serve as a turning point of this year’s world championship as well as a major test for this new generation of Formula 1 cars.
