F1 Italian Grand Prix qualifying LIVE RESULTS: Hamilton looks to overhaul Verstappen in Monza

QUICKEST IN PRACTICE

Lewis Hamilton was the quickest man in practice, but can he keep that pace up throughout the weekend?

The Brit went almost half a second quicker than rival Max Verstappen in the first practice in what was a perfect start for the seven-time World Champion.

There’s still a long way to go until that chequered flag on Sunday though…

QUALIFYING COUNTDOWN

The drivers will re-take to the track in Monzo in just over an 90 minutes time.

Qualifying for tomorrow’s sprint race is set to get underway at 5pm (UK time).

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest man in practice earlier this afternoon, with Max Verstappen almost half a second slower.

TOTO TALKS

Here’s Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff’s assessment of the first practice.

He said: “I was quite pleased – we only saw one lap with the engine properly turned up, but you know how it goes – three hours later you get one on the nose.

“I think we are all struggling on power units, they work hard.

“We haven’t come to a conclusion yet.“

PRACTICE LEADERBOARD

Lance Stroll has gone fourth fastest in practice, 0.750 seconds off Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark time of 1:20:926.

Last year’s winner Pierre Gasly is fifth fastest, with Sebastian Vettel sixth.

Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez round off the top ten.

HAMILTON TOPS PRACTICE

And it is Lewis Hamilton who ends the first practice session as the fastest driver.

It’s by quite a distance actually.

He’s 0.452s ahead of Max Verstappen.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valteri Bottas is third fastest.

LEWIS TAKES THE LEAD

And now Hamilton posts the fastest time as he dons a new set of medium tyres.

He clocks a 1:20:926.

VERSTAPPEN GOES TOP

Max Verstappen is now the quickest man on the track.

He’s 0.073seconds ahead of Valteri Bottas in second place.

The Red Bull man just posted a lap time of 1:21:378.

PIRELLI UPDATE

Midway through the first practice in Monza and it’s Lewis Hamilton who is currently the quickest man around the track.

Tyre provider Pirelli have taken to Twitter to confirm the seven-time World Champion is enjoying his practice session.

They said: “So far it’s @LewisHamilton fastest on the medium tyre for @MercedesAMGF1.

“There’s a lot riding on this race, and more opportunity to score points too, with extra points given to the sprint qualifying race winner tomorrow.”

TRACK COOKING

The heat in Monza means the track temperature is nearing 40C.

It’s a hot day in North-East Italy.

TEN MINUTE WARNING

There’s just TEN minutes to go now until the drivers take to the track in Monza for their practice session.

It’s a warm day in Monza, with temperatures set to reach up to 28C.

No rain is predicted for today’s practice and qualifying, or for the rest of the weekend.

HOW IT WORKS

As the action in Italy edges ever-closer to getting underway, here’s how the weekend’s racing will unfold.

PIERRE PREVIEWS

AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly is confident ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

The Frenchman won the race last year, and believes he will be ‘competitive’ again this time around.

He said: “We won last year, we were pretty competitive.

“Yeah obviously I think the last few races have been extremely good for us and we’re confident we’re in a good position to perform again this weekend.

“[It’s a] very different track, but yeah, I believe we will have a good performance.”

WINNERS ON THE GRID

Other than Lewis Hamilton, there are four other drivers on the current circuit that have won the Italian Grand Prix before.

They are:

• Sebastian Vettel (2008, 2011, 2013)
• Fernando Alonso (2007, 2010)
• Charles Leclerc (2019)
• Pierre Gasly (2020)

Hamilton himself won the race in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 AND 2018.

COUNTDOWN TO ACTION

There’s just over two hours to go now until Practice One gets underway in Monza.

1.30pm is the scheduled start time, before qualifying begins at 5pm (UK time).

CIRCUIT STATS

The DRS Zones for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza are as follows:

DRS 1

• Detection – 95metres before Turn 7
• Activation – 170metres after Turn 7

DRS 2

• Detection – 20metres before Turn 11
• Activation – 115metres after Finish Line

PAST WINNERS

Lewis Hamilton has won five out of the last ten Italian GP’s.

And a win at Monza this weekend would see him become the most successful driver in the history of the Italian GP.

• 2020 – Pierre Gasly
• 2019 – Charles Leclerc
• 2018 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2017 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2016 – Nico Rosberg
• 2015 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2014 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2013 – Sebastian Vettel
• 2012 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2011 – Sebastian Vettel

WEEKEND TIMINGS

And here’s what is to come from Monza for the rest of the weekend:

• Saturday: Qualifying 11pm-12pm (UK time)
• Sunday: Race – 2pm (UK time)

TODAY’S TIMINGS

Here’s what is to come from Monza today:

• Free Practice One: 1.30pm-2.30pm (UK time)
• Qualifying: 5pm-6pm (UK time)

GOOD MORNING F1 FANS

Attention in the world of Formula One turns back to the Grand Prix action after an action packed week of driver movements.

And this week the racing comes from Monza, one of the most historic tracks on the circuit.

It’s the most used circuit on the calendar, hosting the F1 Grand Prix 71 times.

Only once has the Italian Grand Prix not been held at the famous Monza circuit, home of the Tifosi.

After last week’s fiasco at the Belgian Grand Prix Max Verstappen comes into the weekend leading Lewis Hamilton in the driver standings by just three points.

The Red Bull driver has 224.5 points to his name, while Hamilton has 221.5 points.

But if Hamilton crosses the line first this weekend he will become the stand-alone most successful driver in the history of the Italian Grand Prix.

He has won the race on five occasions before, tied with F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

And a win this weekend in Monza would also be the 100th Grand Prix win of his career.

That is some incentive…