Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were at it in the dying stages of the F1 Italian Grand Prix FP3 session, as they tried to outdo each other recalling the 2021 days.
Throughout the third practice session, Red Bull's Verstappen had complaints about the Ferrari in front of him, causing traffic situations and disrupting his runs. The Dutchman showed his annoyance by stating "always in the way" on the radio, midway in the session.
They were not the only ones as several drivers were noted for impeding as the drivers played the tow game to prepare for F1 Italian GP qualifying. Towards the end of the FP3 session, both Verstappen and Hamilton were stacked together when setting fastest laps around the Monza circuit .
The cameras panned to the closing moments between the two F1 champions, where Hamilton passed Verstappen in the lead-up to the main straight as they went side-by-side on start/finish line, only to end up in a tense moment into Turn 2 – the corner that saw them in one of the striking images from 2021, with the Dutchman's Red Bull on top of the Brit's Mercedes.
This time, Verstappen had the inside line into Turn 1. Hamilton turned in but had to avoid the Dutchman. The Brit took evasive action to take the run-off route. But rejoined on the path of the Red Bull driver at Turn 2, with full knowledge of where he was.
Verstappen had to take evasive action this time, before continuing. The Dutchman was quick to state, "yeah, he caused that" on the radio, while Hamilton was, "I got blocked by Max". The incident was noted by the FIA stewards, but was not investigated.
Hamilton eventually finished second to Mercedes' George Russell in F1 Italian GP FP1, with Verstappen in third. The Dutchman was a frustrated figure during the session, complaining not just about traffic but also lack of power. "Mate I have less power than the Fiat Punto. I can't do anything, I can't even race with them," he said when preparing for his final run.
