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Alessandro Giusti delivered a statement performance for MP Motorsport in Formula 3 Free Practice at Monza, topping the timesheets with a 1:37.445 and leading an impressive one-two-three finish for the Dutch team.
The session began with Giusti’s teammate Tuukka Taponen setting the benchmark at 1:40.020. Giusti initially followed in second, half a second adrift, before Noah Stromsted reduced the gap to 0.337 seconds. PREMA Racing debutant Alex Powell also moved into the top three during the early exchanges.
Hitech’s Jin Nakamura briefly took control, but Mattia Colnaghi responded with a 1:39.467 to reclaim the advantage. Hiyu Yamakoshi then moved to within 0.064 seconds of Colnaghi, only for Taponen to return to the front with a 1:39.150.
The order continued to change rapidly. Title hopeful Ugo Ugochukwu lowered the benchmark to 1:38.883, going 0.108 seconds clear of AIX Racing’s Yevan David. Taponen answered again with a 1:38.444, while Taito Kato moved into second, 0.405 seconds behind.
Kato subsequently cut the gap to 0.202 seconds and Kanato Le climbed into third. Taponen improved to 1:38.437, but Yamakoshi was now just 0.088 seconds away in second.
With just over 14 minutes remaining, teams switched to the Soft tyre for qualifying simulations. The impact was immediate: after drivers returned to the circuit with less than 10 minutes left, Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera went fastest on a 1:37.901.
MP Motorsport, however, had the decisive response. Giusti set the Formula 3 lap record around Monza with his 1:37.445, moving 0.232 seconds clear of Taponen. Colnaghi then completed the team’s clean sweep at the chequered flag.
The session ended under an unwanted interruption when Ugochukwu and Matteo De Palo made contact on the main straight. Both cars were left by the side of the road with damage.
Giusti therefore headed Taponen and Colnaghi, with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie fourth and Rivera fifth. David finished sixth ahead of Le and Stromsted, while Nicola Lacorte was ninth and VAR’s Bruno del Pino completed the top 10.
The result provides an early competitive signal ahead of qualifying. For more on the weekend’s title context, read our Formula 3 Monza preview. Group A was scheduled to qualify at 14:00 local time, followed by Group B at 14:20.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.