Lewis Hamilton heads Mercedes 1-2 in final Italian GP practice
Lewis Hamilton pips George Russell as Mercedes show impressive pace in final practice.
Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off on Friday by setting the pace in final practice at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion, who also produced the fastest time in FP2, pipped teammate George Russell by just 0.093 seconds to head a Mercedes 1-2 on what has been a hugely positive start to the Monza weekend for the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes’ late turn of pace came after Charles Leclerc, who ended up third-quickest and 0.109s behind Hamilton, had spearheaded a Ferrari stranglehold at the top of the timesheet to delight the tifosi.
The McLaren’s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished fourth and fifth, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen was unhappy with the balance of his Red Bull as he posted the sixth-fastest time, 0.251s adrift of his 2021 title rival.
Carlos Sainz ended up seventh, ahead of the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, who continues to enjoy a solid debut F1 weekend having been named as a late replacement for the dropped Logan Sargeant.
Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top-10 as his Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen stopped on track in the closing minutes of the final hour of practice running ahead of qualifying.
It proved to be a messy session for traffic, with Leclerc and Piastri both noted for impeding. The pair had a near-miss coming out of the second Lesmo, with Leclerc forced to take evasive action by dipping his right-hand wheels onto the grass.
Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm BST.
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