George Russell threw down a serious marker at Monza, lighting up final practice and installing himself as the man to beat for Italian Grand Prix pole.
The Mercedes driver clocked a 1m22.219s in FP3, three tenths quicker than Friday’s benchmark and a full 0.226s clear of the next-best time from Lewis Hamilton. No tow. No tricks. Just raw pace around the Temple of Speed.
Russell sets the standard
Mercedes spent a chunk of the session rehearsing slipstream drills, with Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli running in formation to perfect the tows that will decide qualifying. When it mattered, Russell didn’t even need one.
His quickest lap came without any help from Antonelli, who is carrying grid penalties this weekend. That clean lap underlined what the stopwatch had been hinting at all morning: Russell has the car and the confidence to control the single-lap fight.
Hamilton backed up Mercedes’ strength with second place, giving the team a commanding one-two at the top of the times. The seven-time champion couldn’t quite live with Russell’s ultimate effort, but his pace keeps him firmly in the conversation for the front row.
Verstappen sharper – and spiky
Max Verstappen, only third, will feel a lot better than the position suggests. Red Bull’s one-lap pace looked far more convincing than on Friday, and the Dutchman stayed in touch with the Mercedes pair.
There was a flash of needle late in the session. Hamilton jumped ahead of Verstappen on the run into Alboreto (Parabolica), compromising the Red Bull’s lap. Verstappen responded with a thumbs-up as they crossed the line – an unmistakable sign his run was ruined – then ran deep into Turn 1, making sure Hamilton couldn’t take the ideal line either. The stewards noted the incident.
Behind them, championship leader Antonelli slotted into fourth, underlining his relentless consistency even on a weekend where penalties will drag him back on Sunday. Lando Norris, winner of the last two races, ended up fifth in the lead McLaren, lurking but not yet showing his full hand.
McLaren hide their cards
Oscar Piastri’s final lap told its own story about the games being played with energy deployment. The Australian produced the fastest first sector of anyone and stayed within Russell’s time through sector two. On paper, it looked like a lap that could threaten the top of the sheet.
Then the time vanished.
Piastri crossed the line more than half a second down, only eighth overall. It was a clear sign McLaren, like several others, are experimenting with how and where they unleash power around Monza’s long straights.
Between Norris and Piastri sat Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari and an eye-catching Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls. For a spell at the end of the session, Lindblad owned the quickest final sector of all, helped by a huge tow from Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi down the pit straight. The slipstream flattered the gap to the rest of the midfield, but the lap still put him firmly in the shop window.
Midfield jostling, Lawson loops it
Pierre Gasly led the chasing pack behind Lindblad, finishing ahead of Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto as the pair completed the top 10. For Alpine, that kind of quiet, efficient session is exactly the platform they need before qualifying chaos breaks loose.
Liam Lawson’s morning was anything but quiet. The Red Bull driver looped his RB22 at the first chicane after getting on the power and the kerb together, an early reminder of how little margin Monza offers. He recovered to finish 12th, almost a second off Russell and more than six tenths shy of Verstappen, underlining the gap between the lead car and Red Bull’s second seat.
Aston Martin-Cadillac adrift
At the back, Fernando Alonso dragged some respectability from a difficult session, finding a late improvement to head the Aston Martin-Cadillac quartet. The problem is the pattern: once again, that group looked detached from the main pack, short on answers and shorter still on outright speed.
So Russell goes into qualifying as the clear reference, armed with a car that looks quick with a tow and lethal without one. Monza loves a slipstream masterclass, but if he keeps this level, the biggest question before Q3 might not be who helps him – it might be who can stop him.
