Italian Grand Prix, third practice: Valtteri Bottas leads McLarens fastest

Hamilton finishes fifth and is almost out of line for cars as the battle for the “tow” gets more intense; Fuel Pump Problem Stops Rapid Renault Riccardo, But Will Be Fixed By Qualification

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As Lewis Hamilton was preparing for the final round of flight, he was greeted by a train of slow cars, and at the last second he had to dodge the road onto the grass.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas set the pace in a competitive but scattered Italian Grand Prix final training session, with McLaren taking impressive second and third places as Renault-powered cars performed well.

Lewis Hamilton was only fifth, and Max Verstappen was sixth, and the duo of championship leaders gave way to Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris from McLaren, as well as Daniel Riccardo from Renault in the last minutes of the session.

But in the last five minutes, Riccardo was forced to park on the grass due to a fuel pump failure. Fortunately, Renault expects the part to be replaced in time for the Australian to qualify.

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Daniel Riccardo pulls over to the side of the track during the third exercise.

Hamilton also found himself on the grass – but this was because he had to act at high speed to avoid slowing the cars in front of Parabolica amid an increasingly intense and controversial battle for “towing” around high-speed Monza.

Qualifying queues will be an important factor for the second consecutive year. Qualifiers will kick off at 14:00 live on Sky Sports F1, with an extension from 13:00.

“He’s completely out of action and could even be fined for that,” Sky F1’s Jenson Button said of Romain Grosjean, moving to the right in front of the fast approaching Hamilton.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc nearly collided with Carlos Sainz during his third Italian Grand Prix training after a McLaren driver slowed down in front of him.

Bottas’ best session result was 1: 20.089, but Mercedes, absolutely dominant on Friday, seemed to hold back performance compared to the race group in the final training session.

Sainz and Norris finished within four tenths of the leader, with Riccardo almost keeping up with him.

Hamilton’s first attempt at a lap with soft tires was compromised by a bad exit from the first chicane, while Verstappen did not show the fastest time on the fastest connection. But beforehand, the Dutchman’s pace on medium tires was impressive – he was in the lead on schedule. before qualifying simulators.

When is the Italian Grand Prix at Sky F1?

All of the Italian Grand Prix airtime this weekend is live on Sky Sports F1 only.

Alexander Albon was seventh, although he lost time due to a mistake on Parabolic, and Esteban Ocon was eighth in the second Renault.

Both Ferraris did not make the top ten, although Charles Leclerc was at least within reach of Racing Points in 11th place. Sebastian Vettel, however, struggled again and finished 15th among Haas cars with a similar Ferrari engine and looks like an unlikely Q3 contender.