FP3: Norris beats Leclerc to top final practice at Monza
McLaren driver Lando Norris set the benchmark in the third and final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, fractionally beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo reports from the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
McLaren spent the opening stages of final practice on Pirelli’s hard tyres, and therefore neither Lando Norris nor Oscar Piastri were able to fight for top places in the first half of the one-hour session.
However, when the Briton headed out on the red-walled soft tyres, he immediately went quickest with a time of 1m 19.331s to top the final hour of practice at Monza.
Ferrari looked quick on the mediums, but both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggled to extract the best performance from their SF25 on the softs.
However, Leclerc put in a late effort to set the fastest opening sector on his second flying lap and that lap was enough for him to end up second quickest, only 0.021s behind Norris.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri finished third, with less than two-tenths covering the Australian, reigning champion Max Verstappen and George Russell behind.
Kick Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto finished an impressive sixth from Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, with Alex Albon completing the top 10.
They were followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, while Carlos Sainz only managed a P13 following his impressive result yesterday.
Franco Colapinto was among the first drivers who headed out onto the Monza track, but the Alpine driver took only 14th, from Yuki Tsunoda in P15.
Liam Lawson finished P16, his Racing Bulls machine being repaired in the latter stages with floor damage, as Ollie Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon completed the order.
