Italian GP: Max Verstappen Tops Final Practice Session as Qualifying Beckons

Oracle Red Bull Racing topped the final Italian Grand Prix Practice Session in round sixteen of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with Max Verstappen finishing at the top of the timesheets outpacing Charles Leclerc with team-mate Sérgio Perez having a much better session finishing third.

The biggest news from before the session came from Williams Racing. Alex Albon was replaced by Nyck De Vries in the session and for the rest of the weekend after the former Red Bull driver got diagnosed with appendicitis. The former Formula 2 and Formula E World Champion will make his Formula 1 debut this weekend after racing in multiple free practice sessions.

Verstappen posted a time of 1.21.252 on soft tyres ahead of rival Leclerc by quite a way, with the Scuderia Ferrari driver 0.347s off the pace. Verstappen’s team-mate, Pérez, was a further 0.149s off the lead.

Carlos Sainz Jr. finished the session in fourth, just 0.050s away from Pérez. Fernando Alonso was the best of the rest ahead in his BWT Alpine F1 Team car ahead of the team’s rivals McLaren F1 Team, with Lando Norris in sixth position.

It was a disappointing session for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only able to finish seventh and tenth respectively. Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon were the other drivers in the top ten at the end of the session.

There was yet more issues for Mick Schumacher. The German driver completed just nine laps on Friday and his bad luck continued in this session as an issue kept him out for most of the session.

De Vries finished the session in thirteenth position, only a few tenths off his team-mate. It was a solid result for the debutant despite a small off in his first run of the session.

Qualifying gets underway in a few hours time and it will be an interesting session, with multiple penalties up and down the talent-packed grid.

Italian Grand Prix Free Practice Three Full Results: