Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Monza

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes driver George Russell set the pace in a final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix dominated by drivers trying to find a silpstream to boost their lap time.

Russell set his best time apparently without a tow and was 0.226 seconds quicker than Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third fastest.

But Mercedes spent some time in the session practising Kimi Antonelli towing Russell on fast laps.

An early slipstream from the first to second chicane vaulted Russell to a fastest time that was comfortably quickest at the time.

Antonelli, leading the championship by 59 points from Russell and Hamilton, has a grid penalty and will start the race from the back.

Mercedes have made it clear they will try to use Antonelli to boost Russell’s chances in qualifying - and the Briton is already favourite for pole based on pace.

And there was a fracas involving Verstappen and Hamilton at the end of the session, when they ran wheel to wheel to the first chicane, where the Dutchman dived for the inside, forcing Hamilton into the run-off area.

Antonelli, whose penalty is for exceeding the permitted number of engine parts, was fourth fastest, 0.361secs off the pace.

Verstappen, 0.350secs slower than Russell, appeared to have made a step forward after a difficult Friday.

But McLaren, winners of the past two races with Lando Norris, were still struggling.

The world champion was fifth fastest, 0.406secs off the pace, his team-mate Oscar Piastri eighth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad.

So George Russell, for the second practice session in a row, topped the charts and this time with a sublime 1:22.219.

There was a fair amount of traffic in the latter half of this session with plenty of battles for track position.

How's that going to reflect on qualifying later on? Some drivers definitely had issues getting a lap in unobstructed so it could be pretty entertaining as they battle for grid position for tomorrow's race.

And this is before we get to Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's wheel-to-wheel dash to turn one late in the session.

Who's going to bag pole? We'll find out in qualifying and we'll be here from 14:30 BST to take you through it.

See you then.

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

12. Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

14. Ollie Bearman (Haas)

15. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)

16. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Alex Albon (Williams)

19. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

1. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:22.219

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.226

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.350

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.361

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.406

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.489

7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.505

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.554

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.679

10. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +0.882

The stewards have noted the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Sorry, but where did that come from?!

It's been an uneventful practice session - and I don't mean that as a criticism. The times have been good, the action fine enough.

Then Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen basically decide to put their foot to the floor.

Hamilton: "I got blocked by Max."

Verstappen: "Yeah he caused that!"

Just before the chequered flag, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton go wheel-to-wheel into turn one with Hamilton having to take the run off into the chicane.

2021 vibes, anyone?

No further action on George Russell impeding Oscar Piastri, by the way.

Hmm. I wonder what the stewards have seen on that one.

The top three - George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen - are all from different teams.

And if you include Kimi Antonellii in fourth and Lando Norris in fifth, that's four in the top five.

What a mixture!

Deary me.

George Russell's just clearly impeded Oscar Piastri who's on a hot lap behind him.

The Mercedes man was going mightily slow on the racing line. Not good.

Lewis Hamilton once again sets a purple first sector, but he can't quite take top spot because George Russell improves his previous time shortly before his former Mercedes team-mate crossed the line.

A 1:22.219 is Russell's - and the session's - best effort so far.

Image source, Getty Images

Rebecca Clancy
F1 journalist on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

There is just something about Monza, it is the strategy and it is going to be so important here. It is not just about the tow, it is about the deployment, where you are out on track, there is so much at play here. Not just the driver. It is the team effort to get yourself to pole and it is gearing up to be absolutely amazing.

Verstappen: "This **** Ferarri again! My God! Always in the way!"

Lewis Hamilton sets a tidy purple first sector on a flying lap in his Ferrari but aborts his efforts.

I wonder if it's just that busy out there..

Blimey, Arvid Lindblad's just gone third fastest.

That Racing Bulls car sure looks good on the straights.

Image source, Getty Images

Rebecca Clancy
F1 journalist on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

We have got the driver tracker that goes around Monza. All of the dots [representing the drivers] are on top of each other. It is going to be bedlam.

So as we approach the final 10 minutes, the story so far is that Mercedes look like they're on top, Ferrari look strong and Max Verstappen's in the mix.

But it's looking pretty crowded out there right now.