Italian GP: Bottas quickest in FP3; Ricciardo hits trouble
Valtteri Bottas beat McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in final practice for Formula 1's 2020 Italian Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo stopping and causing a late red flag.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth – behind Ricciardo - after failing to set a time on the first lap on his final run on the soft tyres, with Max Verstappen sixth and setting his best time on the mediums.
The opening stages of the one-hour session featured very little running once six cars had taken to the track to complete installation laps.
Sainz appeared after 15 minutes to conduct a solitary run on the medium tyres, establishing the P1 benchmark at 1m27.875s, which he then lowered to a 1m21.502s.
The rest of the field appeared a few minutes later, with Ricciardo enjoying a brief spell in first place before the Mercedes drivers swept to the head of the times on their first run on the softs.
Bottas put in a 1m20.774s, but Hamilton beat that with a 1m20.658s a few moments later.
After a quick tour through the pits the pair went for another flying run, with Bottas retaking first place on a 1m20.622s, which was then beaten by Verstappen's effort of 1m20.456s on the mediums.
That time stood as the Red Bull drivers best for the rest of the session, which was disrupted after another lull in activity as the drivers returned to the pits to make final adjustments for their final runs.
The Mercedes pair returned on new softs – split apart on the track and not practicing the tow that will be all-important for many teams in qualifying.
Bottas's best lap of the session got off to a slow start in the first sector, but he gained all around the rest of the lap to retake first with a 1m20.089s.
But he appeared to run perilously close to running fully off the track at the exit of the Parabolica – where a number of drivers, particularly Alex Albon, lost times again as the FIA is strictly policing track limits at this point – although Bottas's time was not deleted.
Hamilton abandoned the first lap of his final run after a getting a costly snap of oversteer at the exit of the first chicane, and when he went again on the next tour he wound up 0.350s adrift of Bottas.
This left a gap to the top spot that was filled first by Norris, who popped in a time just 0.323s behind Bottas, before Ricciardo also demoted Hamilton.
But the Renault driver then lost drive approaching the first Lesmo and pulled to the side of the track on the inside and the red flags were deployed with nine minutes of the session remaining.
Renault said the issue was a suspected fuel pump failure and that the car should be ready for qualifying.
It got back underway for one final three-minute blast, where Sainz slotted into second as the biggest gainer late-on, finishing 0.229s adrift of Bottas.
Albon had his final time deleted for track limits at the final corner and he ended up seventh ahead of Esteban Ocon.
Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 for Racing Point, while the Ferrari's finished 11th and 15th for Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel.
The session featured plenty of backing up on the straight approaching the final corner, which the FIA is hoping will be avoided in qualifying with the application of a minimum lap time of 1m43s when not on a push lap.
Nevertheless, the tactic took place at several points, with Hamilton having to put his right-side wheels on the grass as he nipped by at high speed before pitting late on, with cars running side-by-side as they tried to find a gap to get the critical tow for this flying efforts.
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 14 | 1'20.089 | |
| 2 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | McLaren | 14 | 1'20.318 | 0.229 |
| 3 |  Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 15 | 1'20.412 | 0.323 |
| 4 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | 9 | 1'20.419 | 0.330 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 11 | 1'20.439 | 0.350 |
| 6 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 15 | 1'20.456 | 0.367 |
| 7 |  Alex Albon |  | Red Bull | 15 | 1'20.563 | 0.474 |
| 8 |  Esteban Ocon |  | Renault | 13 | 1'20.693 | 0.604 |
| 9 |  Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | 14 | 1'20.804 | 0.715 |
| 10 |  Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | 13 | 1'20.897 | 0.808 |
| 11 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 11 | 1'20.917 | 0.828 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | 14 | 1'20.936 | 0.847 |
| 13 |  Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | 13 | 1'20.953 | 0.864 |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | 14 | 1'21.205 | 1.116 |
| 15 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | 13 | 1'21.263 | 1.174 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | 15 | 1'21.436 | 1.347 |
| 17 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 15 | 1'21.459 | 1.370 |
| 18 | George Russell |  | Williams | 16 | 1'21.677 | 1.588 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 15 | 1'21.764 | 1.675 |
| 20 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 15 | 1'22.090 | 2.001 |
| View full results | ||||||
Related video
Verstappen: F1 cars "too fast" to allow close racing
50 years on: Fittipaldi pays tribute to F1 legend Jochen Rindt
The key aspects of Porsche and Audi's planned F1 entries
The VW Group’s German superpowers of sportscar racing have all but confirmed they are coming to F1 when the next set of engine rules come into force in 2026. Here's why both manufacturers are all set to take the plunge, and crucially how it might work
How Vegas went from byword for F1 indifference to grand Liberty coup
Holding a race in Las Vegas – party central, a city of dreams and decadence and, yes, more than a smattering of tackiness – has been on Liberty Media’s most-wanted list since it acquired Formula 1’s commercial rights. But, as LUKE SMITH explains, F1 has been here before and the relationship didn’t work out
Why de Vries' FP1 outing could add a new path to his current crossroads
A Formula 2 and Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries is currently considering where his future in motorsport lies. Continuing in WEC and Formula E is possible and he's also courted glances Stateside after impressing in an IndyCar test. But ahead of his Formula 1 FP1 debut with Williams, he could have another option if he impresses...
Why Leclerc's crash shouldn't put off F1 drivers tasting history
OPINION: For a demo run ahead of Monaco's Historique Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was blessed with the opportunity to drive Niki Lauda's former Ferrari 312B3 - but a brake failure at Rascasse suggested Leclerc's Monaco hoodoo transcended contemporary F1. Although an awkward incident, Leclerc deserves credit for embracing F1's history.
Why the lack of "needle" between Red Bull and Ferrari is a mirage
OPINION: The fight for the 2022 Formula 1 world titles between Red Bull and Ferrari so far features little of the public animosity that developed between the former and Mercedes last year. But that isn’t to say things are full on friendly or won’t get much worse very quickly…
The underdog F1 squad that thrust Senna into the limelight
The Toleman TG184 was the car that could, according to legend, have given Ayrton Senna his first F1 win but for Alain Prost and Jacky Ickx at Monaco in 1984. That could be stretching the boundaries of the truth a little, but as STUART CODLING explains, the team's greatest legacy was in giving the Brazilian prodigy passed over by bigger outfits an opportunity
Why Aston Martin is unlikely to repeat Jaguar’s F1 mistakes
Two famous manufacturer teams born out of humble midfield origins, splashing the cash while attempting to rise to the top of F1 in record time. There are clear parallels between Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin and the doomed Jaguar Racing project of 22 years ago, but Mark Gallagher believes struggling Aston can avoid a similar fate.
How rejuvenated Haas recovered its F1 mojo
US-owned but until recently Russian-backed, Haas seems to have reached a turning point in car performance after three gruesome seasons. And it needs to if it’s to attract fresh investment. Team boss Gunther Steiner tells Oleg Karpov how close Haas came to the abyss.