Vettel sets pace in tight final practice at Monza
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. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:20.294 | - | 14 |
| 2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:20.326 | +0.032s | 11 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:20.403 | +0.109s | 23 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:20.403 | +0.109s | 14 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:20.564 | +0.270s | 11 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:20.595 | +0.301s | 21 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:20.752 | +0.458s | 13 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:20.827 | +0.533s | 17 |
| 9 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:20.881 | +0.587s | 15 |
| 10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:20.945 | +0.651s | 20 |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:20.949 | +0.655s | 21 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:21.003 | +0.709s | 15 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:21.073 | +0.779s | 22 |
| 14 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:21.292 | +0.998s | 21 |
| 15 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:21.325 | +1.031s | 19 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:21.336 | +1.042s | 16 |
| 17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:21.621 | +1.327s | 16 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:21.639 | +1.345s | 17 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:22.374 | +2.080s | 22 |
| 20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:22.758 | +2.464s | 21 |
