Hamilton and Verstappen Avoid FIA Sanction After Monza Clash
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will face no further sanction from the FIA stewards after a fiery wheel-to-wheel flashpoint in final practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
What began as a routine run to the flag in FP3 at Monza briefly looked like it might spill into something far more serious between Formula 1’s most combustible rivalry.
Pit-lane games turn into full-speed duel
In the closing minutes of the session, Hamilton appeared to jump ahead of Verstappen in the queue as the field prepared for their final flying laps. The shuffle put the Ferrari directly in front of the Red Bull as they thundered down the pit straight.
Neither man backed out.
The pair ran effectively side by side at full speed, Verstappen even flashing a thumbs up at Hamilton as they tore towards the Variante del Rettifilo, a gesture that looked more loaded than light-hearted in the heat of the moment.
Then came the move. Verstappen dived late down the inside into the first chicane, forcing Hamilton to jink across the run-off to avoid contact. The Ferrari skipped the corner, the Red Bull made the apex, and both laps were ruined.
Hamilton and Verstappen immediately traded blame over team radio.
“He caused that,” Verstappen snapped to Red Bull.
“I got blocked by Max, so…” Hamilton reported to Ferrari, prompting race engineer Carlo Santi to respond: “Yes, we saw.”
Neither driver completed what would have been his final timed effort, both backing off after the incident.
The FIA later confirmed the stewards had reviewed the clash and opted against taking any further action, leaving the simmering tension to play out only on track rather than in the penalty room.
Verstappen’s Ferrari frustration boils over
The flashpoint with Hamilton arrived not long after Verstappen had already vented his anger at red cars disrupting his session.
Sergio Perez’s Cadillac ran wide at Lesmo 1, spitting a shower of gravel across the racing line for the Ferrari and Verstappen following behind. Visibility and grip vanished in an instant, and Verstappen’s patience went with it.
“This **** Ferrari again! My God! Always in the way!” he fumed over the radio, frustration spilling out in a few sharp words.
It set the tone for a scrappy end to FP3, with traffic, impeding and frayed tempers punctuating what should have been straightforward qualifying simulations.
Russell on top as incidents pile up
The stewards’ in-tray did not end with Hamilton and Verstappen. An impeding incident between George Russell and Oscar Piastri at Lesmo 1 also came under review.
Piastri, in the McLaren, arrived at the apex to find a slow-moving Russell in his path and had to back out heavily, his lap effectively gone before it started. After examination, the officials again chose not to proceed with any penalty.
On the stopwatch, though, Russell had already made his point.
The Mercedes driver topped the timesheets with a 1:22.219, laying down the benchmark at Monza and edging out Hamilton by 0.226 seconds. Verstappen slotted into third, 0.350s off Russell’s best, after a session that gave him more reasons to complain than to celebrate.
Practice ended with Russell fastest, Hamilton and Verstappen separated by hundredths rather than steward rulings, and the old rivalry between two champions quietly reignited on one of Formula 1’s most historic straights.
Qualifying now has a very simple question hanging over it: if this is how they behave in practice, what happens when it’s for pole at Monza?
