Vettel sets pace in tight final practice at Monza

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Italy, Autodromo Nazionale di Monzait

The slightly shortened final practice session in Italy was topped by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Max Verstappen was his closest competitor and ended up just 0.032s behind.

The session got underway ten minutes late as track repairs were ongoing after a late crash in the F3 race that was programmed just ahead of F1. When running commenced, Mercedes quickly sent their cars out, focusing on set-up verification ahead of qualifying and tomorrow's race.

Ferrari didn't seem bothered as Vettel and Leclerc stayed in the garage 20 minutes longer. They were however quick immediately, with Vettel soon setting his best lap of 1:20.294. Leclerc was just 0.109s off, but that was only good enough for 4th, as the field was tightly matched.

Daniel Ricciardo ended up 5th, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hulkenberg made it a solid session for Renault in 7th, ahead of Alexan Albon in the second Red Bull.

Overall, even 14th positioned Lando Norris was less than a second off Vettel's pace, so qualifying looks set to be a tight battle.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
15Sebastian VettelFerrari1:20.294-14
233Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda1:20.326+0.032s11
377Valtteri BottasMercedes1:20.403+0.109s23
416Charles LeclercFerrari1:20.403+0.109s14
53Daniel RicciardoRenault1:20.564+0.270s11
644Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:20.595+0.301s21
727Nico HulkenbergRenault1:20.752+0.458s13
823Alexander AlbonRed Bull Racing Honda1:20.827+0.533s17
999Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:20.881+0.587s15
1026Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:20.945+0.651s20
1155Carlos SainzMcLaren Renault1:20.949+0.655s21
1211Sergio PerezRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:21.003+0.709s15
1310Pierre GaslyScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:21.073+0.779s22
144Lando NorrisMcLaren Renault1:21.292+0.998s21
157Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:21.325+1.031s19
1620Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:21.336+1.042s16
178Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:21.621+1.327s16
1818Lance StrollRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:21.639+1.345s17
1963George RussellWilliams Mercedes1:22.374+2.080s22
2088Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes1:22.758+2.464s21