Russell leads Mercedes one-two in Monza practice as McLaren struggle ahead of qualifying

George Russell set the pace at Monza on Saturday morning, clocking a 1m22.219s to head a Mercedes one-two in final practice for the Italian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton 0.226 seconds behind in second and Max Verstappen third.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who faces a back-of-the-grid start due to an engine penalty, finished fourth after a promising lap was abandoned when he ran wide at the final Parabolica corner on his second soft-tyre run. The Ferrari-backed Italian had earlier gone quickest on his first soft run with a 1m23.032s, briefly raising hopes of a home-crowd moment at the circuit that bears his team’s name.

Mercedes’ advantage was built in part through deliberate slipstream tactics. Russell’s team-mate provided him a tow on his penultimate run, helping him lower the benchmark to 1m22.463s before the final effort sealed top spot. With Antonelli set to start from the rear, the Italian is expected to assist Russell in Q3 qualifying, underlining the strategic dimension to the session.

Hamilton, driving a Ferrari sporting a 1996-inspired throwback livery in tribute to Michael Schumacher’s debut season with the Scuderia, grabbed a slipstream from Lando Norris to secure second place on his final run.

Red Bull showed only partial improvement after overnight work on their handling issues. Verstappen came close to Antonelli’s early benchmark on medium tyres before Mercedes turned up the pace, while stand-in driver Liam Lawson spun exiting the first chicane during the session.

The picture was less encouraging at McLaren. Norris, the reigning world champion, ended up fifth having struggled for pace across both Friday sessions and appeared to find little overnight remedy. Team-mate Oscar Piastri was a frustrated eighth, suffering repeated lock-ups into Turn 1 and venting his displeasure over team radio. Charles Leclerc took sixth for Ferrari after struggling to find a clean lap.

Alpine provided an early highlight when Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly ran on medium tyres to lead the early order, with Colapinto heading Gasly by a tenth before the soft-tyre runs reshuffled the timesheets.