#F1 #ItalianGP FP3: @LewisHamilton heads @MercedesAMGF1 one-two.

Hamilton Italian GP FP3 – Sir Lewis Hamilton lead from team-mate George Russell in a Mercedes one-two in the final hour-long FP3 session at the Italian GP as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top three.

Hamilton posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:20.117 on the C5 red side-walled softs and was a slim 0.093 seconds clear of team-mate Russell whilst Leclerc was a further 0.109 seconds adrift in third.

In a closely-contested session at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, in which the top six were all within a quarter of a second of each other, the Mercedes pairing dispatched Leclerc from the leaderboard in their final qualifying simulation runs on a fresh set of the C5’s.

The opening stints saw the times rapidly enter the 1:20’s bracket, opened by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on the softs, but further improvements continued to happen throughout the opening half hour of the final 60-minute session ahead of qualifying: McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Russell and Leclerc all spent small periods in P1 as the opening 30 minutes drew to a close.

Williams’ Alexander Albon them jumped to the top of the pile after the first half an hour went by, going 0.018 seconds faster than Leclerc’s effort on the softs, before Sainz set a 1:20.463 to end the Thai-Briton drivers’ time in P1 on the time-sheets.

Leclerc posted a 1:20.226 on his next flying lap, a lap-time, which looked to be under threat from Norris on the McLaren driver’s next hot-lap, but the Briton lost time in sector three. Piastri went 0.01 seconds quicker than team-mate Norris, almost facing a tangle with Leclerc on the exit of Lesmo two.

The Mercedes pairing jumped to the top; Russell posted a 1:20.210 before Hamilton found a tenth on his team-mate to go quickest – Russell reported his tour felt “pretty rubbish.”

Regardless, it was enough to be second-best overall; 0.016 seconds faster than Leclerc’s effort.

The two McLaren’s followed in fourth and fifth respectively; Piastri remaining one-hundredth of a second advantage over team-mate Norris, whilst championship leader Max Verstappen was a tenth further back for Red Bull. The Dutchman reported his usual concerns that his RB20 racer “doesn’t turn in low-speed, medium-speed” corners, and had a scruffy final attempt having struggled through the Lesmos – although the Dutchman posted a purple in the last sector.

Sainz was seventh in the classification as Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto ended the session eighth and ninth respectively whilst Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alondo finished FP3 outside the top ten in 11^th place and in-front of RB pairing Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda who were 12^th and 13^th respectively as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly came 14^th in the classification.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took 15^th and ahead of Haas’s Kevin Magnussen who was 16^th, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who placed 17^th and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who finished a low-18^th.

Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu brought up the rear.

Magnussen parked his VF-24 entry on track at the end of the session with a gearbox failure, as the Dane pulled off on the rundown to the Ascari.

You can see the full Formula 1 Pirelli D’Italia 2024 Free Practice 3 Results classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1244/italy/practice/3

Antonelli to team with Russell at Mercedes for 2025

Antonelli Mercedes F1 2025 – Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team today announced their driver line-up for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season with the confirmation that Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be driving alongside George Russell.

The Italian will be promoted from Formula 2 and a graduate from the Brackley based-outfit’s junior programme, just like Russell, who made the jump to F1 in 2019 after a two-year spell with the Silver Arrows academy.

After solid success in karting, including the FIA Karting European Championship and WSK Euro Series, the Italian youngster graduated to single seaters – where he secured both the ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles in 2022, before clinching the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship crown.

Antonelli skipped Formula 3 and made the immediate step up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with PREMA in 2024 and has claimed two victories so far this campaign, including a Feature Race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Antonelli said: “It is an amazing feeling to be announced as a Mercedes works driver alongside George for 2025. Reaching F1 is a dream I’ve had since I was a small boy; I want to thank the team for the support they’ve given me in my career so far and the faith they’ve shown in me. I am still learning a lot, but I feel ready for the opportunity. I will be focused on getting better and delivering the best possible results for the team. I’m also really excited to become George’s team-mate. He came through the team’s junior programme just like myself and is someone I have a huge amount of respect for. He is super-fast, a multiple Grand Prix winner, and has already helped me improve as a driver. I am looking forward to learning from him and working together to deliver on track.” Antonelli concluded. Credit to Mercedes for the quote.

Mercedes AMG Petronas CEO & Team Principal Toto Wolff added: “Our 2025 driver line-up combines experience, talent, youth and out-and-out raw speed. We are excited about what George and Kimi bring to the team both as individual drivers, but also as a partnership. Our new line-up is perfect to open the next chapter in our story. It is also a testament to the strength of our junior programme and our belief in home-grown talent. George has proved that he is one of the very best drivers in the world. He is not only fast, consistent, and determined, but has also developed into a strong leader within the team. Kimi has consistently shown the talent and speed needed to compete at the very top of our sport. We know it will be another big step up, but he has impressed us in his F1 testing this year and we will be supporting him every step of the way in the learning process. In George, he has an experienced team-mate from which he can learn and hone his craft. I am confident that both will contribute greatly as we continue to build momentum and fight at the front of the field.” Wolff concluded. Credit to Mercedes for the quote.

Russell joined the Mercedes Academy in 2017 and saw him capture the GP3 and Formula 2 championships in his initial campaign.

After spending three seasons at Williams, including an impressive outing with Mercedes at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, the Briton was promoted to partner Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2022, with his maiden Formula 1-career victory coming in the same season at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.

Russell commented: “I’m really excited to be partnering with Kimi for 2025. His record in junior formula has been formidable and his promotion is truly deserved. He’s a fantastic young talent and a fellow graduate of our junior programme. I look forward to using the experience I’ve gained from my own journey to provide guidance to Kimi as he makes the step up to F1. I know how much of a support Lewis was for me throughout my time as a junior driver and since I’ve been his team-mate. I’ve learned so much from him and I hope to play a similar role for Kimi. As a team, we’re building a lot of positive momentum heading into next year. We continue to make progress on track and are working hard to put all the pieces in place to fight for world championships. It is a really exciting journey we are on; I am confident Kimi, and I can continue to push the team forward and help deliver on the promise we are showing.” Russell concluded. Credit to Mercedes for the quote.

#F1 #ItalianGP FP2: @LewisHamilton pips @LandoNorris by 0.003s.

#ItalianGP FP1: @Max33Verstappen tops time-sheets as #Antonelli crashes. #F1

#F1 @Pirelli #ItalianGP 2024 Preview. #Formula1 #ItalyGP #MonzaGP