Hamilton quickest, gearbox problems halt Rosberg

Mercedes AMG Petronas

Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time during the final practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, while Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg was hampered by gearbox problems.

Hamilton, who missed much of Friday’s second session due to an electrical issue, set a time of 1:25.519 to eclipse Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by 0.412s.

But while one Mercedes was on top of the times, Rosberg completed just three laps before he had to return to the pits with a gearbox failure, ending his running for the session.

Mercedes is now trying to repair Rosberg’s car prior to qualifying in the hope that the German driver will not sustain a grid penalty.

Valtteri Bottas held third place for Williams, ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Sebastian Vettel placed sixth, with Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen in seventh, ahead of the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, who will drop 10 places on the grid due to an engine change.

Daniel Ricciardo was ninth, while Nico Hülkenberg completed the top 10.

Technical issues hit a couple of other drivers in the session. Adrian Sutil’s progress was slowed by a hydraulics leak, while Sergio Pérez stopped at Curva Grande with an apparent gearbox issue and missed half of the session.