Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes team-mate George Russell to the top of the timesheet in the final practice for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc a tenth off Hamilton in third place.
At the start of the session, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the early pace with a Medium-tyre lap of 1:21.560 as the Dutchman’s team-mate Sergio Pérez slotted in to second 0.102 off the pace. Russell, also on Medium tyres, then moved ahead with a lap of 1:21.169. The Mercedes driver couldn’t hold on to P1 for long, however, as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri soon jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:20.887.
The Australian then lost out to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris who lowered the benchmark to 1:20.787s, only to be instantly beaten by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who posted a lap of 1:20.742. Still on Medium tyres, Russell then moved back to the top of the order on 1:20.706.
As the session edged towards the half way back Leclerc bolted on Soft tyres and the Monegasque driver edged his way past Russell by 0.092. Williams’ Alex Albon then vaulted to the top of the order, going 0.018s quicker than Leclerc, before Sainz reset the benchmark at 1:20.463.
Leclerc then posted a 1:20.226 to moved ahead of his team-mate and when Norris lost time at the end of his next run, the Ferrari driver’s hold on P1 looked secure. However, both Mercedes driver went out again and after Russell posted a 1:20.210 to dislodge Leclerc, Hamilton eked out another tenth of a second to go fastest.
Behind Leclerc, Piastri held on to fourth ahead of Norris, while Verstappen was a tenth further back. The Dutchman’s effort of 1:20.368 also left him 0.251s behind Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz took seventh in the second Ferrari, ahead of the Williams duo of Albon and new team-mate Franco Colapinto who put in a good performance to take P9. Nico Hülkenberg was 10th quickest but there was trouble for the German’s team-mate Keven Magnussen who was asked to stop his Haas on track on the run to Ascari at the end of the session.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.117 19 260.304
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:20.210 0.093 23 260.002
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.226 0.109 21 259.950
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.252 0.135 15 259.866
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.262 0.145 15 259.834
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:20.368 0.251 24 259.491
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:20.463 0.346 19 259.184
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:20.596 0.479 15 258.757
9 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1:20.905 0.788 16 257.768
10 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:20.943 0.826 18 257.647
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:20.968 0.851 22 257.568
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:21.077 0.960 18 257.222
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:21.141 1.024 14 257.019
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:21.155 1.038 19 256.974
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.157 1.040 23 256.968
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:21.208 1.091 21 256.807
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:21.258 1.141 18 256.649
18 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:21.287 1.170 22 256.557
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:21.357 1.240 19 256.336
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:22.035 1.918 18 254.218
