Hamilton and Verstappen Reignite Rivalry in Monza FP3

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen lit up final practice at Monza with a flash of their old rivalry – and walked away without a single penalty point between them.

The stewards reviewed their wheel-to-wheel scrap at the end of FP3 for the Italian Grand Prix and ruled that no further action was necessary, despite the two champions trading blame over team radio.

Old rivalry, new flashpoint

In the closing minutes of final practice, the tension that has long simmered between Hamilton and Verstappen snapped into view on the pit straight.

Hamilton appeared to jump ahead of Verstappen in the queue as the field prepared for their final flying laps, the pair then charging side by side at full speed towards Turn 1. What should have been a routine build-up lap suddenly looked like a qualifying duel.

Verstappen tucked into the slipstream, then hurled his car down the inside under heavy braking for the first chicane. Hamilton, squeezed and out of room, bailed out and cut across the run-off, abandoning any hope of a last quick lap.

Neither driver completed what would have been his final attempt. Both backed off. Both felt wronged.

On the Red Bull radio, Verstappen’s verdict was sharp: “He caused that.” Hamilton, now in Ferrari red, gave his side of the story: “I got blocked by Max, so…” His race engineer Carlo Santi replied calmly: “Yes, we saw.”

The stewards saw it too – and chose not to intervene. The FIA later confirmed there would be no penalties for either Hamilton or Verstappen.

Verstappen fumes at Ferrari traffic

That flashpoint came shortly after Verstappen had already vented his frustration at finding a Ferrari in his way earlier in the session.

With Sergio Perez’s Cadillac running wide at Lesmo 1 and spitting gravel across the track, Verstappen and a Ferrari behind had to pick their way through the mess. The Dutchman, already on edge in the traffic, snapped over the radio: “This **** Ferrari again! My God! Always in the way!”

It set the tone. The world champion sounded irritated. The laps that followed only tightened the mood.

Russell and Piastri escape sanction

Hamilton and Verstappen were not the only pairing under review.

The stewards also examined an impeding incident involving George Russell and Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver arrived at Lesmo 1 on a push lap, only to find a slow-moving Russell sitting on the apex, forcing Piastri to back out and lose time.

Again, the officials chose leniency. No further action.

Russell lays down a marker

On the stopwatch, though, Russell made the loudest statement of the session.

The Mercedes driver topped FP3 with a 1:22.219, a lap that set the standard heading into qualifying and underlined his growing confidence around Monza’s old-school sweeps and brutal braking zones.

Hamilton slotted into second, 0.226s adrift of his former team-mate, with Verstappen 0.350s back in third. Three heavyweights, three different storylines, separated by barely more than a third of a second.

No penalties. No reshuffled order. Just raw pace and a reminder that, when Hamilton and Verstappen find each other on track, the sport’s most combustible rivalry never really goes away.