Verstappen set a time of 1m 21.252s on the softs to beat Leclerc by 0.347s – the Monegasque’s first run on the red tire compromised by a mistake at the Variante della Roggia chicane – with Perez two and a half tenths behind .
READ MORE: 5 things we learned from Friday’s Italian Grand Prix practice
Verstappen was also the fastest driver on the middle tracks – his early benchmark that kept him in the mix with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz even after Ferrari switched to the softs.
It makes for an interesting qualifying session later this afternoon, with Verstappen, Sainz and many other drivers confirmed to be penalized for engine and gearbox component changes.
1 Max Verstappen VER Red Bull Racing 1:21.252 2 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari +0.347s 3 Sergio Perez PER Red Bull Racing +0.596s 4 Carlos Sainz SAI Ferrari +0.645s 5 Fernando Alonso ALO Alpine +1.
Sainz was next in the other Ferrari – half a tenth off Perez – with Fernando Alonso ‘best of the rest’ for Alpine in fifth and first to benefit from the various penalties.
McLaren’s Lando Norris remained sixth, with Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in seventh and 10th respectively – joining AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine (the latter is on the penalty list with an engine change). .
READ MORE: Horner explains Red Bull engine penalties at Monza as Verstappen says ‘not worried’ about Ferrari’s pace
Grid penalties for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix
DRIVER PENALTY Max Verstappen 5 places Esteban Ocon 5 places Sergio Perez 10 places Mick Schumacher 15 places Valtteri Bottas 15 places Kevin Magnussen 15 places Carlos Sainz Back-of-grid Lewis Hamilton Back-of-grid Yuki Tsunoda Back-of-grid
Zhou Guanyu led the Alfa Romeo to 11th, five places and three tenths quicker than teammate Valtteri Bottas, with Pierre Gasly’s fellow AlphaTauri in 12th.
At Williams, a late driver change saw Nyck de Vries step into Alex Albon’s car for FP3 – and the rest of the weekend – after the Thai driver went down with appendicitis.
Fresh from his run in Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin during FP1, De Vries recovered from a trip to Lesmo 1 to set the 14th fastest time, just under a tenth off regular Williams driver Nicholas Latifi – both trying to secure a spot on the 2023 grid.
FP3 Highlights: Italian Grand Prix 2022
Daniel Ricciardo trailed teammate Lando Norris by half a second en route to 15th, ahead of the aforementioned Bottas and Vettel and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen (another making power unit changes).
At the back, there were further problems for Mick Schumacher, who spent most of the session stuck in the garage due to a clutch problem that clicked when Haas started his car – the engine penalties were also confirmed on the garage side.
READ MORE: Albon ruled out of Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis as replacement De Vries prepares to make F1 debut
It came after the German completed just nine laps on Friday. Having sidelined Antonio Giovinazzi in FP1, Schumacher’s FP2 session was derailed halfway through due to a power unit related failure.
Lance Stroll brought up the rear for Aston Martin, six tenths clear of teammate Vettel and 2.5 seconds off the pace set by Verstappen.
Qualifying for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix will start at 16:00 local time. With Verstappen, Perez, Sainz and Hamilton taking penalties, who will start on pole at Monza?
