Norris Leads and Bortoleto is 6th in the Last Free Practice of the Italian GP

Lando Norris of McLaren topped the final free practice session before qualifying for the Italian GP, which starts at 11 am on Saturday morning by Brasilia time. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took second place, and third place went to his teammate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri. Sauber’s two drivers performed well in the session. Gabriel Bortoleto finished sixth. The Brazilian even set the third fastest time and remained in the top 10 during the practice runs on hard tires, just like his teammate Nico Hulkenberg until the final moments when he dropped to 11th. The field was very tight, as it had been in Friday’s free practices. Leclerc was just 21 thousandths behind Norris, and Bortoleto, in sixth, was only 227 thousandths off the pace. All 20 drivers were separated by less than a second. A tightly contested qualifying session can be expected at Monza, with a lot of emphasis on drafting on the long straights. This could provide up to two-tenths advantage over a lap. For instance, Bortoleto benefited from drafting on his fastest lap. Leclerc’s second-place lap excited the Monza crowd. Despite making an error on his first attempt with soft tires, he managed to gain four tenths in the first sector alone, with the aid of a draft, placing himself among the McLarens. Some corners seemed challenging for the drivers. The first chicane, where Norris, Hamilton, and Bortoleto all made mistakes during the session, and the Lesmo corners have been tricky throughout the weekend. Leclerc ran wide on the first qualifying sim, which is the last chance for drivers to fine-tune their cars ahead of grid placement. Aside from McLaren and Ferrari, Max Verstappen cannot be ruled out in the fight for pole position. He finished in fourth place, closely trailing Piastri, and Red Bull is much more competitive at Monza compared to last year.