Source – FormulaRapida.net
On the day the team announced that Kimi Antonelli would partner Russell for 2025, Lewis Hamilton led teammate George Russell to form a Mercedes one-two at the top of the timesheets during the third and final practice hour before the Italian Grand Prix.
The stage was set for an intense final practice session at Monza, following a chaotic Friday that saw two red flags disrupt proceedings. Kimi Antonelli’s crash in FP1 and Kevin Magnussen’s incident in FP2 left teams scrambling to recover lost ground. As the drivers returned to the track for FP3, the anticipation was palpable, with just a few hours remaining before the all-important qualifying session.
The sun beamed down on the legendary circuit at 1230 local time, welcoming the cars back onto the asphalt as the drivers looked to fine-tune their setups. The early laps saw several teams opting for the hard compound tires, aiming to gather crucial data on a tire that had seen limited action the previous day. Only Yuki Tsunoda had ventured out on the hards during Friday’s sessions, leaving the rest of the grid eager to catch up.
For Kevin Magnussen, the disruption of Friday had been particularly costly, and he wasted no time in getting straight to the soft tires, eager to make the most of every minute on track. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen quickly established a benchmark time on the medium tires, signaling his intent to dominate the session.
However, all eyes were on George Russell, who had been forced to sit out much of FP2 due to damage sustained to his Mercedes in Antonelli’s FP1 crash. The young Briton was keen to make up for lost time and immediately put his Mercedes at the top of the timesheets on the medium compound. But with the track evolving rapidly and the times tumbling, his moment at the summit was short-lived.
The roar of the Tifosi reached a crescendo when Charles Leclerc, bolted on the soft tires, went fastest with a time of 1m 20.614s. The Ferrari fans erupted as their hometown hero briefly topped the charts. But in a session characterized by razor-thin margins, Leclerc’s time was under constant threat. The top five were separated by just over a tenth and a half after the initial flying laps, illustrating the tight competition across the field.
Alex Albon, enjoying a strong weekend, underscored the closeness of the competition by seizing P1 from Leclerc with a margin of just 0.018s. But as the session wore on, the battle at the front intensified. Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Daniel Ricciardo were all involved in a tense moment on track, with Leclerc having to take evasive action to avoid contact, leaving the Monegasque driver frustrated as he clipped the grass.
Amidst the drama, Lewis Hamilton was quietly piecing together a strong lap. With precision and poise, he posted a time of 1m 20.117s, putting his Mercedes at the top of the standings. George Russell followed closely behind, just 0.093s adrift, making it a Mercedes one-two as the session drew to a close. Leclerc’s best effort placed him third, a tenth behind Hamilton, with the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slotting into fourth and fifth, respectively.
Verstappen, who had been vocal about his Red Bull’s handling issues, could only manage sixth, while Carlos Sainz took seventh. The Williams pair of Alex Albon and newcomer Franco Colapinto impressed by securing eighth and ninth, respectively, with Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten for Haas.
Fernando Alonso’s session was less fruitful, as he finished 11th in his Aston Martin, followed by Ricciardo, Tsunoda, and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly. Lance Stroll, struggling to find pace, ended the session in 15th.
Magnussen, pushing to recover the mileage lost in FP2, finished 16th but raised concerns for Haas when he had to stop on track after the chequered flag. Esteban Ocon followed in 17th for Alpine, while Sergio Perez’s struggles continued as he languished in 18th place, unable to unlock the potential of his Red Bull.
The day’s woes were compounded for Kick Sauber, with both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu occupying the final two spots on the timing screens. The once-dominant team faced a challenging start to Saturday, with their former driver Kimi Raikkonen watching on from the garage, perhaps feeling a twinge of sympathy for his old squad.
As the final practice session wrapped up, the focus now shifts to qualifying. The session, set to begin at 1600 local time, promises to be a thrilling spectacle, with the grid as tightly packed as it has been all season. Hamilton and Russell have set the stage for a potential Mercedes resurgence, but with the margins so fine, nothing is certain. The fight for pole at Monza is about to begin, and it’s anyone’s guess who will emerge victorious.
