Hamilton tops final Italian GP practice ahead of Sprint

MONZA: Lewis Hamilton topped the times in Saturday’s final practice session for the Formula One Italian Grand Prix which was shortened after home hope Carlos Sainz crashed out.

Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton posted a best time of one minute, 23.246 seconds at Monza, 0.222sec ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas in a one-two for Mercedes as the Briton prepares for another attempt to bring up a century of Grand Prix victories.

Championship leader Max Verstappen, who is three points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, finished 0.416sec back in third, the same position from which he will start the Sprint race later on Saturday.

Hamilton has been stuck on 99 wins since taking the British GP at Silverstone in mid-July, when the Sprint format was used for the first time.