George Russell Dominates Final Practice at Monza
George Russell set the tone for qualifying day at Monza, topping a frantic final practice session that had just about everything: traffic, penalties looming, radio fury, and a flashback duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The Mercedes driver, already quickest in FP2, underlined his form with a 1m 22.219s, enough to keep Hamilton at bay by two tenths and Verstappen a further step back in third. On a day when the circuit never really calmed down, Russell looked the most composed man in the chaos.
Slow burn, then Monza ignites
The session crept into life at 1230 local time. For a few quiet minutes, the track belonged almost exclusively to Audi, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg circulating alone before Alpine joined in and began to drag the pace up.
Williams’ day started on the wrong note. Alex Albon complained of a steering wheel problem and was rolled back into the garage before he’d really begun. The team fixed it, and he re-emerged later, but it was a scruffy prelude to a session that would only get more complicated for him.
Pierre Gasly set the early benchmark inside the first quarter of an hour, while many of the heavy hitters stayed in the pits. When Ferrari finally released Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, both on soft tyres, the grandstands responded, the Tifosi greeting the red cars with the usual roar.
Then Kimi Antonelli lit the place up.
Antonelli shines, even with the penalty
The young Italian, already consigned to start from the back after a planned engine change, fired in a 1m 23.032s to jump to the top. On a weekend that could so easily have been written off as damage limitation, he put his Mercedes right in the conversation.
The session bit back. Liam Lawson spun into the first chicane, triggering brief yellow flags and complaining about “the rear in low speed” in his Red Bull. Albon, trying to rebuild his rhythm, picked up a warning for not following the Race Director’s escape road instructions.
At halfway, Antonelli still led. Two tenths clear of Leclerc, Gasly third, and a few others increasingly irritated. Oscar Piastri locked up into Turn 1, bailed out via the escape road, and came over the radio with a dry “great” that said everything about his mood.
Russell stamps his authority
Russell then made his move. A 1m 22.697s put him three tenths ahead of his team mate and reset the order. It wasn’t a clean lap in free air either; almost immediately he was back on the radio, boxed in by traffic and resigned to the fact there was little he could do about it.
The final 15 minutes turned into the expected sprint. Fresh softs went on across the field, with Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen among the first to roll the dice. Times tumbled as the fuel loads came down and the commitment went up.
Williams tried something more tactical. Knowing both Albon and Carlos Sainz will start from the rear due to engine penalties, they practiced the tow, Albon dragging the Ferrari down the straights in a move clearly designed with qualifying in mind. It came at a price: both drivers will be investigated after the session for a yellow-flag infringement.
Up front, Verstappen’s patience snapped. Hemmed in on a crowded circuit, he complained that a Ferrari was “always in the way”, his frustration a familiar soundtrack on days like this. Russell, too, had his name noted for potentially impeding Piastri, but the stewards quickly ruled there would be no further action.
Hamilton vs Verstappen, again
Then came the flashpoint. Hamilton overtook Verstappen before the pair thundered side-by-side down the main straight, refusing to yield as they braked for Turn 2. It was only practice, but the body language said otherwise. Both drivers voiced their displeasure on the radio, the stewards noted the incident, and then chose not to investigate.
The message was clear enough. The rivalry hasn’t gone anywhere.
When the dust settled, Russell’s 1m 22.219s stood as the lap to beat. Hamilton slotted into second, two tenths back, Verstappen third. Antonelli’s impressive run left him fourth, ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren and Leclerc in sixth.
Arvid Lindblad delivered for Racing Bulls with seventh, followed by Piastri, early pacesetter Gasly and Franco Colapinto in the second Alpine, rounding out a competitive top 10.
Behind them, Hulkenberg took 11th, then Lawson, Bortoleto, Haas rookie Ollie Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda, Sainz, the other Haas of Esteban Ocon and Albon. Aston Martin endured a bruising hour: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll ended up 19th and 22nd, split by the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Russell leaves final practice as the man to catch. The timesheets say Mercedes hold the upper hand, Red Bull are lurking, Ferrari are under pressure at home, and the grid already carries the weight of penalties and simmering tempers.
Qualifying at 1600 local time will decide the order. The mood in the Monza pit lane suggests it won’t be polite.
