Max Verstappen tops timesheet after final practice for Italian Grand Prix
By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Monza
Max Verstappen finished fastest in final practice for the Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who faces a five-place grid drop for exceeding his number of allocated engine parts, saw off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.347 seconds.
World champion Verstappen is among nine drivers who will be delivered grid sanctions for Sunday’s race at Monza.
🏁 END OF FP3 🏁
It's Max Verstappen who ends the session fastest#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Fr8JjKuydT— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2022
His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished third in Saturday’s concluding one-hour running before qualifying, and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who was fourth, will also be docked places for changing engine parts.
Sainz has also been summoned to see the stewards after he was involved in an altercation with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas at the first chicane. Bottas was forced to take evasive action to avoid running into the back of the Ferrari driver.
Lewis Hamilton, who was only 10th, 1.3 seconds adrift of Verstappen, is set to start towards the back on Sunday for taking on his fourth power unit of the season – one more than he is allowed.
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Alpine ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Nyck de Vries, a late call-up for Alex Albon after the Williams driver was ruled out for the rest of the weekend with appendicitis, finished 14th.
