Italy Grand Prix, practice three: Valtteri Bottas fastest ahead of McLaren

Hamilton is fifth and is barely wrong with parking at a time when the perilous “drag” battle begins; Fuel pump problem Renault Ricardo quick stops, but will be fixed to qualify

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Just as Lewis Hamilton was preparing for his final flying session, he was met by a train of slow cars – and forced off the road at the last second on the lawn.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas set the speed in a competitive but disjointed final training session for the Italian Grand Prix, with McLaren second and third fastest as the powered cars ran hard.

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth while Max Verstappen finished sixth, with the lead duo qualifying for the championship by Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris, along with Renault’s Danielle Ricardo, in the final minutes of the tournament.

But Ricardo had to stand on the lawn for the last five minutes due to a malfunctioning fuel pump. Fortunately, Renault expects the part to be replaced in time for the Aussie to participate in the qualifiers.

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Daniel Ricciardo stops at the side of the track during Training 3.

Hamilton also found himself on the lawn – but this was because he had to take high-speed evasive action to avoid slowing down the cars ahead of the Parabolica amid the fraught and increasingly controversial battle for a “ pull ” around the high-speed Monza.

The wait in the qualifiers will be a big factor for the second year in a row. Qualifiers start at 2 pm live on Sky Sports Formula 1, with an increase from 1 pm

“It’s totally out of order, and there might be a penalty for that,” said Jenson Button of Roman Grosjean’s Sky Formula 1 team, as he headed to the right ahead of fast-coming Hamilton.

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

Bottas’ lap that took the lead in session 1 was: 20.089, but Mercedes, who were all dominant on Friday, seemed to be holding back the performance relative to the stalking group in their last training session.

Sainz and Norris finished within four-tenths of the driver, and Ricardo was near behind before he stopped.

Hamilton’s first attempt on the loose-tire lap was hacked due to a poor exit from the first corner, while Verstappen did not set a fast time at the fastest compound. But the Dutchman’s speed in the pre-mid-frame was impressive – he was ahead of the timeline. Pre-eligible simulations.

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Alexander Albon finished seventh, despite time lost through a foul in Parabolica, with Esteban Ocon eighth in Renault II.

Ferrari were both out of the top ten, although Charles Leclerc was at least within walking distance of the race points in 11th. However, Sebastian Vettel struggled again and was in 15th place among similar Ferrari-powered Hass cars and appeared to be an unlikely competitor for the third quarter.