F1 Italian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3
Saturday's opening action from the 16th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season
Lewis Hamilton ended Friday as the fastest driver but had the McLaren and Ferrari drivers hot on his heels, as Red Bull languished outside the top 10 with both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Final practice gets under way at 11:30 BST with qualifying at 3pm BST.
By: James Newbold
We're going to shut this live page down now but do join us this afternoon, from shortly before 3pm BST, for live qualifying updates here. We look forward to you joining us later but, until then, it's goodbye from me and thanks for following along!
In case you missed any of the action and aren't a fan of scrolling, then why not take a minute or two to read the full report from FP3, topped by Hamilton from George Russell, here.
Mercedes has been burned before by lifting its hopes after strong showings in practice, but could today be a different story? The last time a Mercedes started on pole at Monza was in 2020, but Lewis Hamilton has plenty of fire in his belly to put on a good show for the Italian fans he'll represent next year in Ferrari colours.
So, what's next? Following a short break, Qualifying gets going at 3pm BST this afternoon. You'll be able to follow all the updates from that session on our live blog here. In the meantime, there will be plenty of news to keep an eye out for on the website, including more insight and reaction into the Mercedes decision to sign Andrea Kimi Antonelli for next season.
Colapinto meanwhile has been noted for a practice start infringement, which he will put down to experience. Better to get any issues out of the way today, then doing it for real tomorrow.
Oh dear, it looks as though Haas mechanics may have some extra work to do before qualifying.
It was no surprise to Alex Kalinauckas that Norris and Leclerc weren't improving towards the end of that session, from his vantage point trackside. He tells us:
“Norris and Leclerc were really pushing the limit of what their cars could take at Turn 1. Older tyres will be a factor, but both carried too much speed between the apexes and were too pinched on Turn 2’s inside - with Leclerc even bouncing on the big orange inside kerb too. Just bleeding lap time.”
Late improvements from Stroll, Magnussen and Ocon push Perez down to 18th by the end of the session, with the Mexican ahead only of the Saubers driven by Bottas and Zhou.
It's a similar story for Leclerc, who was faster in his first sector but slower around the rest of the lap, so he remains third as Mercedes head the way in FP3 courtesy of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
No improvement there from Verstappen, who is three tenths off his personal best despite setting the fastest final sector of all.
The chequered flag is out, so this will be the final opportunity for anyone looking to lay down a marker before qualifying.
Verstappen has returned to the track in the closing minutes with a set of softs. Time for one more flyer after some set-up tweaks?
Perez has also been noted for the same thing. It's been a quiet session for the Mexican, whose best time has him 16th in the order as things stand.
Stroll has been noted for not following the race director's instructions after an off at the second chicane. He came back onto the track too early having sailed off at the left-hand part and skipped over the brief strip of gravel that separates the circuit from the run-off area.
Williams went very well at Monza in 2022, you may recall, when Albon was sidelined and substitute Nyck de Vries scored points on his debut. Could Colapinto repeat that feat? He's up in ninth, one spot behind Albon as things stand.
A quirky story for you now, as it emerges that Andrea Kimi Antonelli has beaten Jack Doohan in the race to secure their preferred race numbers next year. You can read more about that here.
That near-miss we referenced earlier involving Piastri and Leclerc will be investigated after the session, which has less than 10 minutes to go.
A slightly muted effort then from Verstappen, who goes into sixth spot with his first run on softs, a 1m20.368. That puts him 0.251s behind new pacesetter Hamilton, who edges ahead of Russell and Leclerc with a 1m20.117s.
Yikes, a near-miss there for Leclerc. Piastri slows exiting the second Lesmo and drifts towards the right of the circuit, to which Leclerc had already committed. He puts two wheels onto the grass but keeps control and avoids what could have been a scary moment.
His running on the medium complete, here comes Verstappen on a set of softs for the first time in the session. Will he gatecrash Ferrari's FP3 party?
If you thought the gap between Leclerc and Norris was too small for another car to squeeze into, then think again. Piastri - or should that be Russ Swift? - muscles into P2, missing out on the top spot by 0.026s.
Max Verstappen looks to have adjusted his line through Turn 1 as this long run has gone on. He was hitting the apex hard earlier and it was really unsettling the car. Now he's wider and smoother, but it's compromising his approach a bit for Turn 2. The graining problem the teams found was high in FP2 was also making the RB20 go back towards its Zandvoort ill-handling, so that could also be a factor now too.
Oof. It was close, but no cigar for Norris who ends up 0.036s behind Leclerc.
Colapinto moves into eighth spot, while Alonso improves to tenth. Norris meanwhile is going quickly and sets a new fastest middle sector.
The tell-tale signs of that are flashes of purple on the timing screens, and sure enough Leclerc darts above his team-mate with a 1m20.226s. Will anybody be able to match it?
As we enter the final 20 minutes of practice before qualifying, will teams start turning up the engines and throwing sets of softs at their drivers to simulate the flying laps they'll be doing later?
Russell has been shuffled back to fourth in the times, but intriguingly he remains the fastest driver though the final sector. Albon's Williams is quickest through sector one, and Sainz's Ferrari in the middle part that contains the Lesmos.
That will be a popular one with the tifosi. Albon is pushed off the top spot by not one, but two Ferraris. Sainz goes quickest on a 1m20.463s, ahead of Leclerc by 0.102s.
Verstappen continues to pound around on mediums, which to me suggests confidence. He's in no hurry to switch onto the softs for a headline time.
Esteban Ocon now sets a new personal best, but it's only enough for 17th. He is however still ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly, who scored his first and so far only win here in that unforgettable 2020 race for AlphaTauri over Sainz's McLaren.