George Russell maintained Mercedes’ strong form at Monza by setting the fastest time in the final practice session for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, leading Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a busy hour of running.

Russell, who had also topped Friday’s second practice, produced a best lap of 1:22.219s to finish 0.226s clear of Hamilton, while Verstappen was a further 0.124s adrift in third.

The session began quietly when the green light appeared at 1230 local time, with the Audi pair of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg among the early runners. Alpine soon joined the action, with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly initially setting the pace on medium tyres.

There was an early concern for Alex Albon, however, as the Williams driver reported a steering wheel issue and returned to the garage. The problem was subsequently resolved, allowing the Thai driver to resume his programme.

As the frontrunners began to emerge, Kimi Antonelli moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1:23.032s on soft tyres. The Italian, who will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid following an engine penalty, looked set to improve on his next attempt before running wide at the final corner and abandoning the lap.

Liam Lawson then brought out brief yellow flags after spinning at the first chicane, the Red Bull driver reporting difficulties with rear-end stability in the slower corners.

The pace intensified after the halfway point. Verstappen moved close to Antonelli’s benchmark before the Mercedes drivers began to assert themselves. Russell first lowered the fastest time to 1:22.687s and then improved again as the session entered its closing stages.

With fresh soft tyres fitted for the final runs, the times continued to tumble. Russell ultimately found another improvement, posting his session-best effort with five minutes remaining.

Hamilton moved into second, aided by a slipstream from Lando Norris, while Verstappen secured third ahead of Antonelli, who ended the hour just 0.361s behind his team-mate.

McLaren again appeared to face a more difficult weekend, with Norris fifth and Oscar Piastri eighth. The Australian endured several lock-ups at the first chicane during the session, while Charles Leclerc finished sixth in the second Ferrari.

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad continued to impress, taking seventh and finishing just over half a second away from Russell’s benchmark. Gasly and Colapinto completed the top 10 for Alpine.

Behind them, Hülkenberg led Lawson and Bortoleto, while Oliver Bearman was 14th. Carlos Sainz finished 16th ahead of team-mate Albon, with both Williams drivers set to face investigations following the session.

At the rear of the field, Fernando Alonso headed the two Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, while Lance Stroll brought up the order as attention now turns to qualifying at the Temple of Speed.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:22.219 14 253.649
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:22.445 0.226 21 252.954
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:22.569 0.350 24 252.574
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:22.580 0.361 18 252.540
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:22.625 0.406 18 252.403
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:22.708 0.489 21 252.149
7 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:22.724 0.505 21 252.100
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:22.773 0.554 21 251.951
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:22.898 0.679 24 251.571
10 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:23.101 0.882 23 250.957
11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:23.126 0.907 22 250.881
12 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:23.203 0.984 23 250.649
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:23.298 1.079 21 250.363
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:23.585 1.366 23 249.504
15 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:23.817 1.598 16 248.813
16 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:23.875 1.656 28 248.641
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:24.020 1.801 25 248.212
18 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:24.437 2.218 29 246.986
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:24.919 2.700 20 245.584
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:25.004 2.785 20 245.339
21 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:25.031 2.812 20 245.261
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:25.555 3.336 20 243.758