Russell beats Hamilton and Verstappen to lead Italian GP FP3

News summary

• George Russell led FP3 at Monza with a 1:22.219, continuing Mercedes’ strong form after topping Friday’s second practice.
• Lewis Hamilton finished second for Ferrari, while Max Verstappen put Red Bull third ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
• Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull closed the gap during qualifying simulations, but Mercedes again showed a significant advantage on Monza’s long straights.

George Russell continued to show the strength of Mercedes at Monza and led FP3 for the 2026 Italian GP on Saturday (5). The Briton set a 1:22.219 to finish 0.2s ahead of Lewis Hamilton and 0.3s clear of Max Verstappen.

With track temperatures climbing above 50°C, Mercedes once again demonstrated strong straight-line performance. Andrea Kimi Antonelli had led much of the first half of the session before Russell moved to the top, reinforcing the pace shown by the Silver Arrows in Friday’s running.

The situation is particularly interesting because Antonelli will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after taking a power-unit change penalty. That means Mercedes can focus Russell’s preparation more heavily on qualifying, while Antonelli has concentrated more on race preparation. Mercedes had already adopted different programs for the 2 drivers during Friday’s sessions.

The fight behind Mercedes became increasingly close once the qualifying simulations began. Charles Leclerc initially came within 0.012s of Antonelli, with a surprising Arvid Lindblad immediately behind in fourth. Lando Norris and Verstappen followed, both around 0.1s off the benchmark.

Hamilton then produced the fastest first sector of the session and moved into second, although Russell maintained a gap of around 0.2s. The main difference came in the final sector, where the Mercedes was around 0.3s faster than the Ferrari.

That gave Ferrari some encouragement, particularly because Leclerc and Hamilton appeared competitive through the first 2 sectors. However, the number of drivers running wide at the chicanes and corners highlighted the difficulty of extracting a perfect lap in the hot conditions.

Russell ultimately finished first, followed by Hamilton, Verstappen, Antonelli, Norris, Leclerc, Lindblad, Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

The result keeps Mercedes in the strongest position heading into qualifying, although Ferrari remains a serious threat at its home race. Russell had already described Ferrari as the “team to beat” after Friday despite Mercedes topping FP2, while Red Bull continues to look for improvements after Verstappen admitted there was still a “big gap” to the leaders.

GRANDE PRÊMIO follows all the action from the Italian GP, the 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

How FP3 unfolded at Monza

The 30.4°C ambient temperature and 49.4°C track temperature at the start of FP3 immediately pointed to another hot Saturday at Monza. With the asphalt expected to remain above 50°C during the session, tire management and reliability were once again important factors.

The opening minutes were relatively quiet, with Gabriel Bortoleto the first driver to leave the pits on medium tires. The Audi driver did not immediately set a representative lap, while teammate Nico Hülkenberg also returned to the track without completing a quick time.

The Alpine drivers followed, while most of the leading teams remained in the garages. Alexander Albon briefly emerged but reported an issue with the steering after struggling to turn the car and was brought back into the pits.

Carlos Sainz then joined Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto on track but remained 0.133s behind the Alpine driver despite using soft tires. Gasly moved to the top with a 1:25.349, while Colapinto took third, leaving only those 3 drivers with recorded lap times during the opening 10 minutes.

Gasly continued to improve and lowered the benchmark to 1:23.878 as more midfield cars joined the session. Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, however, continued to keep their main drivers in the garages while waiting for a more suitable point in the session.

Liam Lawson was the first driver from the leading group to set a representative lap with 45 minutes remaining. He posted a 1:24.240 to go second, but Colapinto soon moved ahead with a 1:23.766 after a 7-lap stint.

The pace increased when Antonelli switched to soft tires and set a 1:23.032. Verstappen followed on mediums, finishing 0.4s behind the Mercedes. Leclerc then completed a quick lap on softs and moved Ferrari into second, just 0.2s behind Antonelli, although his time was subsequently deleted.

Hamilton, meanwhile, ran wide at Lesmo and compromised his lap, leaving him 13th and almost 2s behind Antonelli. With 40 minutes remaining, only Piastri, Norris and Russell were yet to register a lap time.

When Piastri finally went out, the McLaren driver also ran slightly wide in the first sector and encountered heavy traffic in the third. He ended the lap 0.8s behind Antonelli in seventh.

Lawson then spun at the second part of the first chicane as Verstappen began another qualifying attempt. The Red Bull driver’s sector times were not enough to challenge the benchmark, while Antonelli set the fastest second sector before losing the rear at the Parabolica and crossing the line 0.5s slower than his own best.

With around 30 minutes left, traffic became an increasingly important factor. Leclerc had to deal with several slower cars but managed to improve in sectors 2 and 3 and returned to second, 0.239s behind Antonelli.

Russell was fifth at that stage, ahead of Norris, while Piastri was only 10th. Bortoleto then moved into sixth with a 1:23.561 on used medium tires.

Piastri subsequently appeared to slow on track, prompting engineer Tom Stallard to ask whether there had been a problem. The replay showed that the McLaren driver had simply missed his braking point for Turn 1 and gone straight through the chicane.

The different approaches to qualifying preparation were also visible. Verstappen was looking for a tow from cars ahead to understand how much the slipstream could help around Monza, with several other drivers doing the same.

With 25 minutes remaining, Russell finally beat Antonelli’s benchmark with a 1:22.687. Hamilton produced a first sector similar to his teammate’s but lost time in the final sector and remained 0.3s behind.

Leclerc then set a 1:22.913 with 20 minutes remaining, taking second from Antonelli but remaining around 0.2s behind Russell.

Formula 1’s timing graphics highlighted where Mercedes was gaining its advantage: Russell was around 0.4s faster than the Red Bull cars on the straights and 0.5s faster than Piastri and Antonelli.

Russell improved again to 1:22.463, while Verstappen moved into second before Antonelli crossed the line 0.233s behind his Mercedes teammate.

The final qualifying simulations ultimately confirmed Russell’s advantage, with the Briton setting the fastest time of the session at 1:22.219.

Italian GP F1 2026: FP3 results

Italian GP 2026: FP3 results

FAQ

1. What time is Italian GP qualifying?

Qualifying for the 2026 Italian GP starts at 4:00 p.m. local time at Monza on Saturday, September 5, or 10:00 a.m. ET in the United States and Canada.

2. Who is favorite for pole position at the Italian GP?

Mercedes enters qualifying with the strongest reference, after Russell topped both FP2 and FP3. Ferrari remains close, however, while Red Bull and McLaren are expected to fight for the front positions.

3. Where can I watch the 2026 Italian GP qualifying?

Qualifying is available through the official broadcasters in each market, including Apple TV in the United States, TSN/RDS in Canada, Sky Sports F1 in the UK, FanCode in India, Fox Sports/Kayo in Australia and Sky Sport in New Zealand.