Mercedes confirms strength before the grid definition in Monza, while Audi tests slipstream and setup changes on Gabriel Bortoleto’s car, who again faced difficulties with the soft tires.
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George Russell was the fastest in the third and final free practice for the Italian GP, the 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season. This Saturday (5), in Monza, the Mercedes driver confirmed the strength shown by the team throughout the weekend and finished the last session before qualifying in first position.
Gabriel Bortoleto appeared among the leaders during the work with medium tires, also using Nico Hülkenberg’s slipstream, but again faced difficulties when switching to softs. Audi also made setup changes to the Brazilian’s car during the final part of FP3.
Practice
George Russell led the third and final free practice for the Italian GP of Formula 1, held this Saturday (5) in Monza. The session closed the teams’ preparation before qualifying and once again showed a competitive Mercedes, while Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren also showed pace to fight for pole position.
FP3 again started under high temperatures. The asphalt was around 49°C, an important condition for tire behavior and especially relevant for a Mercedes that traditionally struggles more in extreme heat conditions.
However, the German team had passed the challenge well on Friday. Russell led FP2 and Mercedes also showed good pace in longer simulations.
For Gabriel Bortoleto, the last 60 minutes of preparation were especially important. The Brazilian finished FP1 inside the top 10 but dropped to 15th in FP2, mainly struggling to extract performance from the soft tires.
Audi also expected a tough weekend in Monza. The long straights of the Italian circuit expose one of the team’s limitations, which struggles to reach the same speed as some competitors.
Audi starts early with Bortoleto
As usually happens in FP3, there was little movement in the first minutes. Several drivers were not even inside their cars when the session started.
Bortoleto was one of the exceptions.
The Brazilian went on track shortly after the pit lane opened at 7:30, and Hülkenberg appeared shortly after. However, both only did installation laps before returning to the garage.
The initial work also served for Audi to check the cars’ functioning. The team had already suffered in different stages of the season with technical problems capable of completely compromising a session and, in some cases, even participation in a race.
Gasly, Colapinto, and Sainz were among the first to effectively start track work. Gasly set 1:25.349 before Colapinto took the lead with 1:24.733 and later lowered it to 1:23.766.
Albon encountered a problem even before starting his sequence. The Williams driver complained about the steering wheel and said he was having difficulty turning the car, being called back to the garage.
When the main drivers started entering the circuit, the classification changed quickly.
Antonelli took the lead with 1:23.032, while Leclerc set 1:23.250.
The tire difference was important: Antonelli and Leclerc were already using softs, while Verstappen, Colapinto, Lawson, Gasly, and Bortoleto were working with mediums at that moment.
Bortoleto initially set 1:24.309 and appeared eighth. The first comparison with Hülkenberg was also positive, with the Brazilian about three to four tenths faster than his teammate.
Hülkenberg gives slipstream to Bortoleto
Audi then started working with an element that can be decisive in qualifying at Monza: the slipstream.
Hülkenberg helped Bortoleto in one of his attempts, and Gabriel lowered to 1:23.893.
The work was repeated shortly after and produced an even better result. With new assistance from his teammate, Bortoleto set 1:23.561 and jumped to sixth position at that moment.
The performance was especially interesting because the Brazilian was on medium tires. Among the drivers using that compound at that stage of FP3, Bortoleto was the third fastest.
The session also began to show one of Monza’s classic problems: traffic.
With drivers looking for space and slipstream on the long straights, the speed difference between cars on flying laps and those preparing their attempts increased the risks.
Lawson completely lost the rear in the second part of the first chicane, spun, and was momentarily facing the opposite direction of the track. A yellow flag was quickly deployed, but the driver managed to continue.
Hamilton also had a complicated first sequence and even touched the gravel between the two Lesmo corners.
Mercedes and Ferrari rehearse slipstream game
The work done by Audi with its two drivers was not an isolated case.
Mercedes and Ferrari also began preparing strategies that could be used during qualifying.
Antonelli carries a penalty for power unit component changes and will have to start from the back of the grid on Sunday. Because of this, Mercedes started using the Italian to provide slipstream to Russell.
The exercise worked during FP3 and Russell took first position with 1:22.687.
Ferrari did similar work. Hamilton gave slipstream to Leclerc in one of the attempts, helping the Monegasque, and later received help from his teammate.
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The race direction even removed Leclerc’s 1:23.250 time but later reinstated the mark.
Hamilton advanced to 1:23.111 and then reached 1:23.040, using Leclerc’s slipstream.
Leclerc also found more performance and lowered to 1:22.913.
Norris, meanwhile, set 1:23.431 while McLaren was still preparing its more representative attempts.
Qualifying simulations
About 20 minutes from the end, most drivers returned to the pits to prepare the final attack with new soft tires.
Russell put on the faster compound and lowered his reference to 1:22.463, keeping Mercedes in front at that moment.
Verstappen started his simulation shortly after and set 1:22.790 without slipstream assistance. The detail was relevant because the Dutchman himself had previously commented that he needed to evaluate how much he could gain using the effect on the straights.
Antonelli also completed an attempt without slipstream and reached 1:22.696, placing himself again among the leaders.
From there, practically the entire field returned with new sets of softs.
It was the most important moment of the session for Bortoleto.
Bortoleto again struggles with softs
The Brazilian had been competitive with medium tires, but the big question was whether Audi had managed overnight to solve the difficulties that appeared with softs in FP2.
Hülkenberg made good progress and set 1:23.126, jumping from 17th to eighth at that moment.
Bortoleto came shortly after and also improved, but to a lesser extent. The Brazilian set 1:23.319 and advanced to ninth.
This time, therefore, the internal comparison reversed: after running ahead of Hülkenberg with mediums, Bortoleto was behind the German in the simulation with softs.
Other drivers also began to advance.
Colapinto set 1:23.101, while Lindblad appeared with a very strong lap of 1:22.724.
Leclerc reached 1:22.708, and Norris set 1:22.774.
Hamilton was on a very fast attempt but made a mistake and lost that lap.
With the rivals’ progress, the two Audis began to drop in the classification, confirming that the expected performance jump with soft tires had not appeared in the same way for Bortoleto.
The Brazilian also made a quick pit stop. Audi increased the angle of his car’s wing, trying to find a better setup for the last attempt.
Traffic causes scare between Russell and Piastri
The final minutes became even busier.
Verstappen improved to 1:22.569, while Hamilton also found a fast lap. Piastri initially advanced with 1:23.022, and Norris managed to improve his time without gaining position.
Bortoleto also found some time in his last attempt but remained in the same position, unable to make the leap he sought after the change made by Audi.
Traffic again produced a dangerous moment shortly before the checkered flag.
Russell hindered Piastri at Turn 6 when the McLaren driver was on his attempt. The two were very close, and the episode even caused concern due to the speed difference.
The race direction analyzed the incident for possible obstruction but decided there would be no further investigation.
After the checkered flag, some drivers still managed to complete their laps. Gasly improved to 1:22.898, while Piastri reached 1:22.773.
The session ended with Russell confirmed in first position, finishing FP3 as the fastest and keeping Mercedes as one of the main references before the grid definition.
The closing also reinforced the importance of slipstream for qualifying. Mercedes, Ferrari, and Audi used FP3 to rehearse work between teammates, something that could have a direct impact on the fight for pole position.
For Bortoleto, the last practice left a mixed reading. The Brazilian showed good performance with medium tires and Hülkenberg’s slipstream assistance, even appearing among the leaders, but again struggled to extract performance from the softs.
Audi still tried to react with changes to the wing angle before the final attempt, but the gain was not enough to produce a significant improvement on the timesheet.
Thus, Bortoleto arrives at qualifying still trying to find the best way to make the soft compound work on a track that, due to its straight-line speed characteristics, was already pointed out by Audi as one of the most difficult of the season.
Qualifying for the Italian GP takes place later this Saturday at 11 am (Brasília time).
Check the FP3 result of the Italian GP in Monza:
1) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’22.219
2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’22.445
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’22.569
4) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’22.580
5) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’22.625
6) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’22.708
7) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’22.724
8) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’22.773
9) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’22.898
10) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’23.101
11) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’23.126
12) Liam Lawson (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’23.203
13) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’23.298
14) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’23.585
15) Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’23.817
16) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’23.875
17) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’24.020
18) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’24.437
19) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’24.919
20) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’25.004
21) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’25.031
22) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’25.555
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