Russell steals Ferrari’s thunder at Monza with FP3 benchmark

The opening 15 minutes belonged to Alpine, with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly trading the top spot on the medium tyres, while Liam Lawson followed closely behind.

The frontrunners took to the track with around 40 minutes remaining, with Kimi Antonelli setting the pace in 1:23.032 on soft tyres, two tenths clear of Charles Leclerc, also on the softs, and Max Verstappen.

Lawson spun at Turn 1 after clipping the kerb with his front-left tyre, which unsettled the car and sent him around. There were no consequences, however, as he was able to straighten the car and continue.

Oscar Piastri struggled during the session, running wide at Turn 1 and angrily hitting the steering wheel with his fists. He then went again on the following lap but could only manage ninth place, just behind his teammate.

George Russell entered the action with 25 minutes remaining, going fastest with a 1:22.687 on soft tyres, three tenths clear of his teammate after benefiting from a strong tow through the first sector.

Ferrari responded to Mercedes with 20 minutes remaining, as Leclerc moved into second place, two tenths behind Russell and just ahead of Antonelli, with Hamilton fourth.

Russell improved again on a fresh set of tyres, setting a 1:22.463 to shave another two tenths off his previous best. Antonelli also found more time shortly afterwards, moving back to within 0.233s of his teammate. Verstappen made a significant step forward as well, climbing to third, three tenths off the pace.

In the closing minutes, Russell improved once again, finding another two tenths to set a 1:22.219. Hamilton moved into second, two tenths behind after benefiting from a tow, while Verstappen returned to third, three tenths off the pace.