Mercedes emerged from FP3 at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix with the clearest indication yet that the W17 has significantly increased its performance level, particularly on Monza’s long straights. George Russell became the reference ahead of qualifying, while Ferrari continued to recover time under braking and Max Verstappen moved firmly into contention for a place on the front row.
The third practice session began to reveal more about the competitive picture at Monza, especially in terms of Power Unit usage and electrical energy deployment over the lap. As always, Saturday morning telemetry has to be interpreted with a degree of caution, but the strongest impression is that Mercedes made a substantial step compared with Friday and finally showed an important part of its potential.
Monza FP3 telemetry shows Mercedes turning up the power
The W17’s performance increase was particularly evident on the straights. Compared with Friday, George Russell was able to build a sizeable advantage in the full-throttle sections, gaining roughly four tenths over Ferrari by the time the cars reached Ascari. Crucially, the Mercedes driver achieved that without benefiting from a significant slipstream.
That appears to be the clearest indication that Mercedes was using more available Power Unit performance in FP3. The gain changes the picture from Friday, when Ferrari had looked particularly competitive through the slow chicanes and had displayed a different approach to electrical energy management. The interaction between combustion performance and hybrid deployment remains central to the 2026 cars, something also evident in Ferrari’s own SF-26 Power Unit development for Monza.
On the evidence of FP3, George Russell therefore appears to be the leading favourite for pole position, at least on paper. Mercedes’ advantage is strongest precisely where Monza places the greatest emphasis on efficiency: the long acceleration zones and high-speed sections where available power and low drag can translate directly into lap time.
George Russell’s tow shows both the benefit and risk of the slipstream
Another interesting moment came on a lap when George Russell was able to use Kimi Antonelli’s slipstream all the way towards the Roggia chicane. The straight-line benefit was obvious, reinforcing how powerful towing tactics could become in qualifying.
However, the telemetry also indicated that George Russell lost a considerable amount of time under braking for the Prima Variante, almost cancelling out the advantage of the attempt. It is difficult to determine from the data alone whether the loss came simply from an error caused by the higher approach speed or whether running close behind Kimi Antonelli disturbed the Mercedes aerodynamically at the moment of braking.
Either way, the lap provided a useful example of how much a slipstream can give and take away at Monza if it is not executed perfectly. The importance of that tactical element has already emerged as a major theme before qualifying, with Charles Leclerc and the rest of the leading contenders likely to face a delicate balance between gaining speed from a tow and maintaining a clean braking phase.
Ferrari fights back under braking as Lewis Hamilton excels at Turn 1
For Ferrari, the comparison in terms of Power Unit performance became less favourable than it had been on Friday. The SF-26 nevertheless continued to display some encouraging characteristics, particularly under braking.
Lewis Hamilton was exceptionally strong at the Prima Variante, where he recovered a significant part of the time Ferrari had lost on the straights. That braking performance became one of the most important strengths of his lap and showed how the Scuderia could partly compensate for Mercedes’ increased straight-line advantage through the slower sections.
The British driver also benefited from Lando Norris’s slipstream during the final part of the lap. That allowed Lewis Hamilton to essentially match George Russell between Ascari and the Parabolica. Without the particularly strong performance at the first braking zone, however, the Ferrari driver’s overall lap would probably have been considerably further away from the Mercedes benchmark.
The balance between braking performance, corner execution and Power Unit efficiency has been one of the defining challenges of Ferrari’s Monza weekend. Charles Leclerc had already highlighted the importance of the Scuderia’s engine and floor upgrades for the Italian Grand Prix, but FP3 showed how closely every element has to work together when the leading teams begin to increase performance.
Max Verstappen joins Ferrari in the fight behind Mercedes
As expected, Red Bull also improved, with Max Verstappen becoming a serious factor in the qualifying battle. The Milton Keynes car showed good straight-line speed, and Max Verstappen appeared to have the tools required to challenge immediately behind George Russell.
That puts Ferrari and Red Bull in what currently appears to be a direct fight for the position alongside Mercedes on the front row. The exact order remains uncertain, but the telemetry suggests that the Scuderia cannot rely on Friday’s Power Unit picture remaining unchanged now that Mercedes has increased its performance level.
McLaren loses around three tenths after Ascari
The most unusual situation concerns McLaren. Lando Norris remained competitive for almost the entire lap up to Ascari, but from that point onwards a clear energy-management problem emerged.
The MCL40 appeared to reach its speed plateau roughly 15 km/h earlier than Ferrari and Mercedes. Between Ascari and the Parabolica alone, Lando Norris lost approximately three tenths of a second. At Monza, that is an enormous deficit and enough to undo a substantial part of the performance built during the rest of the lap.
The problem is particularly significant because the final sector is one of the areas where sustained electrical deployment can have a major influence. Ferrari had already shown on Friday that the SF-26 could preserve useful energy for the closing part of the lap, while Mercedes now appears to have raised its overall performance level. That leaves McLaren with a difficult technical issue to manage before qualifying.
George Russell becomes pole favourite but Ferrari remains in the front-row fight
The picture heading into qualifying is therefore becoming clearer. George Russell appears to be the favourite for pole position, with Max Verstappen and Ferrari likely to fight for the other place on the front row. For the Scuderia, the encouraging element is that the SF-26 still has areas where it can recover time, particularly under braking and through sections where Lewis Hamilton has shown strong confidence.
Ferrari’s challenge will be to combine those strengths with improved performance on the straights and effective energy management across the complete lap. The team’s Monza preparation has centred heavily on efficiency, and the wider evolution of the SF-26 can be followed through our Lewis Hamilton Ferrari coverage as the seven-time world champion continues his first Italian Grand Prix weekend in red.
There is also another variable that could disrupt the apparent hierarchy: the slipstream. What happened during FP3 looked like a preview of the likely traffic and tactical chaos in qualifying. Teams and drivers will have to manage gaps, track position and timing extremely carefully, while the FIA could also face difficult decisions if borderline situations develop during the battle to find a tow.
That means the final grid may not simply reflect which car is theoretically fastest. At Monza, Power Unit performance, electrical deployment, aerodynamic efficiency, braking execution and slipstream strategy can all interact within a single qualifying lap. George Russell currently holds the advantage, but Ferrari, Max Verstappen and the rest of the leading contenders still have opportunities to change the picture when the decisive laps begin.
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