F3’s Practice session in Monza was relatively uneventful until after the chequered flag had flown. However, it did show that the track has gotten faster over the years and Alessandro Giusti proved this by setting a time of 1:37.445.

Early Leaders

At the beginning of the session, many drivers went out and set lap times. However, the first driver to set a notable time was Tuukka Taponen with a time in the 1:50s.

He then bested it, setting a time of 1:41.686. PREMA’s James Wharton briefly went off-track. New driver Alex Powell looked promising, setting an impressive time.

Mattia Colnaghi was next to the top, setting a 1:39.467 before Taponen bested it with a 1:39.150.

Championship contender Ugo Ugochuckwu topped the times briefly with a time of 1:38.883 before Taponen returned to the top of the times.

Final Lap Times

As the end of the session approached, Colnaghi spun at Turn 2 causing a brief yellow flag. For a significant proportion of Practice, Taponen was fastest but at the end, Ernesto Rivera and Alessandro Giusti were able to get to the top of the times.

Following the chequered flag, there was heavy contact between Ugochukwu and Matteo de Palo with the latter being squeezed against the pit wall.