2026 Italian GP FP3: Russell top as Hamilton closes in

George Russell carried his Friday momentum into Saturday at the Italian Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in a lively final practice session at Monza, leading Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen ahead of Qualifying.

The Mercedes driver worked his way down to a 1m 22.219s during an increasingly frantic final hour of practice, making it two consecutive sessions at the top after also setting the benchmark in FP2. Hamilton emerged as Russell’s closest challenger for Ferrari, finishing 0.226s behind, while Verstappen improved late on to take third for Red Bull at 0.350s off the pace. Kimi Antonelli was only another 0.011s behind Verstappen in fourth, with the Italian ending FP3 0.361s away from team-mate Russell on a weekend where his outright speed has looked much stronger than his Sunday starting position will suggest.

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Antonelli, the leader of the 2026 F1 World Championship, is set to start the Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after Mercedes elected to fit a planned new engine, placing even greater importance on understanding the car’s true pace before Qualifying. Lando Norris completed the top five for McLaren, 0.406s off Russell, while Charles Leclerc ended the session sixth in the second Ferrari.

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP3 Results

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP3, 5 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:22.219	13
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.226s	21
3	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.350s	24
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.361s	18
5	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.406s	18
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.489s	21
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.505s	21
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.554s	21
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+0.679s	24
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+0.882s	23
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+0.907s	22
12	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+0.984s	23
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.079s	21
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.366s	23
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+1.598s	16
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.656s	28
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.801s	25
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.218s	29
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.700s	20
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.785s	20
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.812s	20
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.336s	20

Quiet start before Monza comes alive

Saturday’s final practice session began at 1230 local time, although there was little urgency during the opening few minutes.

Audi pair Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were initially the only drivers circulating, enjoying a largely empty Monza circuit before the Alpine cars joined them soon afterwards.

While track activity remained limited, Williams encountered an early concern with Alex Albon.

The Thai driver reported a problem with his steering wheel, prompting the team to wheel his car back into the garage while mechanics investigated the issue.

The problem appeared to be resolved relatively quickly, however, and Albon was eventually able to join the rest of the field as the circuit became progressively busier.

Pierre Gasly held the fastest time after the opening 15 minutes, although the classification remained highly unrepresentative with many of the leading teams yet to begin serious running.

Ferrari soon provided the grandstands with a more familiar sight as Leclerc and Hamilton headed onto the circuit, both equipped with the soft tyre as the Scuderia began preparing for the afternoon’s Qualifying session.

Antonelli then made his first significant move of the hour.

The Mercedes driver jumped to the top with a 1m 23.032s, continuing the strong pace Mercedes had demonstrated throughout Friday despite the grid penalty that will consign him to the rear for Sunday’s race.

Lawson spins as track limits and traffic become a factor

The session’s first notable incident came courtesy of Liam Lawson.

The Red Bull driver lost control into the opening chicane and spun, triggering a brief yellow flag.

Lawson was able to continue but reported over the radio that he was struggling with “the rear in low speed”, giving Red Bull another balance issue to assess after Verstappen had complained about insufficient downforce during FP2.

There was also attention on Albon, who received a warning after failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions regarding use of the escape road.

At the front, Antonelli remained fastest as FP3 reached the halfway stage.

The Italian held an advantage of around two tenths over Leclerc, while Gasly sat third as some of the larger teams continued building towards their final qualifying simulations.

Not everybody was enjoying the session.

Oscar Piastri locked up approaching the opening corner and was forced onto the escape road, sarcastically reporting that things were “great” after another untidy moment.

Russell then made his move at the top.

The Briton produced a 1m 22.697s, going around three tenths quicker than his Mercedes team-mate and retaking control of the session.

Even Russell was unable to escape Monza’s familiar traffic problem, though.

Soon after setting the fastest time, he found himself caught among a group of cars and radioed Mercedes to say there was effectively nothing he could do as drivers attempted to create space and position themselves for a tow.

Fresh softs trigger final qualifying simulations

The final 15 minutes brought the most representative running of FP3.

Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen were among the first leading drivers to switch onto fresh soft tyres, signalling the beginning of the final qualifying-style runs before the afternoon session.

Lap times immediately began to fall as drivers pushed on low fuel and fresh rubber.

Williams also started experimenting with one of the most important tactical elements of qualifying at Monza: the tow.

Albon, who like Antonelli will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back because of engine-related grid penalties, was used to provide a slipstream for team-mate Carlos Sainz.

The move offered a preview of a tactic Williams could attempt to exploit later in Qualifying, when timing the gap to another car can produce a valuable speed gain along Monza’s long straights.

There was another issue for the Williams pair, however.

Both Albon and Sainz were confirmed as being under investigation after the session for an alleged yellow flag infringement, adding another potential complication to the team’s Saturday.

Verstappen frustrated in traffic

Traffic continued to produce tension across the field as drivers fought for clean track and useful tow positions.

Verstappen was particularly unhappy after feeling that a Ferrari was “always in the way” ahead of him during one of the busiest phases of the session.

Russell also came under the attention of the stewards after potentially impeding Piastri.

The incident was noted, but officials ultimately decided that no further investigation was necessary.

Then came one of the more eye-catching exchanges of the hour as old title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen found themselves fighting for the same piece of Monza asphalt.

Hamilton overtook before the pair ran side-by-side down the main straight, remaining close as they approached Turn 2.

The tense sequence prompted irritated radio messages from both drivers.

The stewards noted the incident but later confirmed that it would not be investigated, allowing both to continue without further consequence.

Russell finds another step

As the final runs unfolded, Russell produced the lap that would define the session.

The Mercedes driver lowered the benchmark to a 1m 22.219s, comfortably beating his previous best and securing first place for the second consecutive practice session.

Hamilton delivered Ferrari’s strongest response.

The seven-time World Champion moved into second with a lap 0.226s slower than Russell, putting himself ahead of Verstappen and giving the Tifosi another reason for encouragement ahead of Qualifying.

Verstappen recovered from his Friday struggles to take third.

The Red Bull driver ended FP3 0.350s behind Russell, a significantly more competitive showing than his ninth place in FP2 and one that suggested Red Bull had made progress with the RB22 overnight.

Antonelli took fourth at +0.361s, only 0.011s slower than Verstappen.

That result underlined the raw speed available from Mercedes, although Antonelli’s weekend remains shaped by his impending back-of-the-grid start.

Norris was fifth for McLaren, 0.406s behind Russell, while Leclerc could manage only sixth after showing stronger pace across the first two sessions.

Lindblad impresses again as Piastri takes eighth

Arvid Lindblad continued a strong Italian Grand Prix weekend for Racing Bulls by placing seventh.

The young Briton had already shown competitive pace on Friday and once again featured prominently in the final practice classification.

Piastri ended the hour in eighth for McLaren after his earlier lock-up, while Gasly maintained a strong Alpine presence by taking ninth.

Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 in the second Alpine, giving the team both cars inside the first 10 positions.

Hulkenberg was the leading Audi driver in 11th, followed by Lawson in 12th after recovering from his early spin.

Bortoleto ended FP3 in 13th, while Ollie Bearman took 14th for Haas.

Yuki Tsunoda was 15th in the second Racing Bulls, one place ahead of Sainz for Williams.

Esteban Ocon placed the second Haas in 17th, followed by Albon in 18th after his early steering-wheel issue and the subsequent yellow flag investigation involving both Williams cars.

Aston Martin struggles at the bottom

The final four positions were shared between Aston Martin and Cadillac.

Fernando Alonso could manage only 19th for Aston Martin, while Valtteri Bottas took 20th for Cadillac.

Sergio Perez finished 21st in the second Cadillac, leaving Lance Stroll at the bottom of the classification in 22nd for Aston Martin.

It completed a difficult final practice hour for the Silverstone-based team, with both of its cars outside the top 18 heading into Qualifying.