LEWIS HAMILTON will be gunning to take top spot back from Max Verstappen as the F1 season heads to Italy this weekend.
The Dutchman Verstappen went to the top of the Driver’s Championship after his victory at home in the Dutch Grand Prix last week.
And he will have pole at Monza after a dramatic qualifying session.
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Follow all of the latest updates below…
BOTTAS WINS THE SPRINT QUALIFYING RACE…
Only this is not a race.
And he won’t start in P1 due to engine penalties. He will start last.
But he does get three bonus points.
Verstappen, who is second and gets two points in the championship, will start on pole in his place.
Hamilton is fifth after his poor start, misses out on any points.
SLIGHT WOBBLE FOR HAMILTON
But he’s kept it on track. He’s dropped time on Norris. Meanwhile, Bottas is 2.1 seconds ahead of Verstappen.
SIX LAPS TO GO
Hamilton is closing in on Norris but the McLaren man remains ahead with the world champion down in fifth.
PEREZ GETS PAST STROLL
But does it by ignoring the chicane. He’s been told to give the place back or risk a penalty from the stewards.
SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP
The racing will resume and it is Bottas, Verstappen, Ricciardo.
SMASH FOR GASLY
The AlphaTauri man is caught up in the mayhem and he lost his front wing and is sent into the barriers. He is out.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda is also in the thick of it and tags Robert Kubica, sending the Alfa Romeo into a spin.
HAMILTON GETS A BAD START
The Mercedes man has dropped to fifth place after Norris and Ricciardo both leapfrogged him.
FORMATION LAP
All 20 cars are on the gird. Bottas starts on P1 but will start tomorrow’s pace in P20 regardless, due to engine penalties.
All eyes on how Hamilton and Verstappen deal with Turn One.
25 MINUTES UNTIL THE SPRINT QUALIFYING RACE
Good to see Leclerc out on the grid after complaining of feeling unwell in final practice.
BOTTAS GETS A PENALTY
The Mercedes man knew it was looming and now the FIA have confirmed that he will get a 10-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race for taking a new engine.
MORE WOE FOR FERRARI
Team are now working hard to fix Sainz’s car following his high speed crash in practice.
Meanwhile, Leclerc stopped driving early in the session as he was complaining of feeling unwell.
SESSION OVER – MERCEDES LEAD THE WAY
Just as they had done in qualifying, it is the world champions who are quickest in Monza.
Hamilton tops the session ahead of the sprint race coming up at 4:40pm local time – 3:30pm in the UK.
MAZEPIN HAS BEEN DONE FOR SPEEING
The Haas man was clocked at doing 86.6kmh in the pitlane, which is limited to 80kmh.
It has triggered a €700 fine paid to the FIA coffers.
PLENTY OF LONG RUNS – ON HEAVY FUEL LOADS
And it is Hamilton who is quickest. Bottas in second, Verstappen in third and Perez in fourth.
SESSION HAS RESTARTED
Sainz has gone for medical checks while Ferrari will now need to rebuild his car in time for the sprint race.
RED FLAG – SAINZ HAS CRASHED
Just when I was saying how Ferrari needed to impress, Carlos Sainz has had a shunt.
He is ok, but winded. The front of his car has suffered extensive damage.
That was at one of the quickest sections of the track the Ascari corner.
EYES ON FERRARI
The Italian team have been largely invisible this season, but they are making progress. They are now quicker than McLaren and the third-placed team in the championship. Still, not good enough by their standards.
NEAT GRAPHIC FROM MERCEDES ON THIS OLD TRACK
SECOND PRACTICE IS ABOUT TO GET UNDERWAY IN MONZA
Final chance to dial in the cars ahead of the Sprint Race later on today. ICYMI Valtteri Bottas was quickest ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen was in P3.
GOOD NIGHT
That’s all from us for tonight after an exhilarating day of qualifying in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix itself takes place on Sunday, but the F1 Sprint qualifying which happens tomorrow will determine the final grid placings ahead of the main race.
There are also points up for grabs, which Valtteri Bottas will be determined to capitalise on after his grid penalty which places him at the back of the pack due to an engine change made to his car by Mercedes.
Hamilton is well placed in P2 to potentially win his 100th career Grand Prix, meanwhile Verstappen salvaged what looked like being a disappointing day by nabbing P3 from under the nose of Lando Norris at the last minute.
The two Ferrari drivers sit in P7 and P8 respectively and will almost certainly feel the pressure of the Italian crowd willing them on to earn maximum points at their home Grand Prix.
Future Mercedes driver George Russell also sneaked in at P15 at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda, who sits in P17.
All eyes will be on Sprint qualifying tomorrow after a day of near misses and controversies as drivers all scrambled to exit the pit lane and narrowly avoided colliding on various occasions.
The drama will continue tomorrow as we prepare for another hugely exciting milestone in one of the most unpredictable Formula 1 seasons in living memory.
CAN’T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN
Despite Bottas’ excellent driving in qualifying, the Finn will start at the back of the grid on Sunday as a penalty after Mercedes decided to change the power unit in his car.
Bottas won the Pirelli Speed King award after he clinched P1 in qualifying and will start at the front of the the grid for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint race.
Points will be up for grabs in the sprint race, however, meaning Bottas will still be able to win points this weekend, despite starting the actual race at the back of the grid.
Bottas said: “I think in Sprint obviously, there’s the possibility to get some few points, so of course [we’ll] try to get the maximum points tomorrow that we can and then it’s another fight on Sunday.
“Now I just focus first on tomorrow and try to deal with it on Sunday, and, having a look at the pace we have here, I’m sure we can get some strong points on Sunday.”
The last time Bottas started last on the grid was the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he eventually finished P4, so the Finn can’t be written off just yet.
ALL TO RACE FOR
Here’s the official line up for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint qualifying to decide the official grid for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes are sitting pretty up top in P1 and P2, with McLaren also having a good qualifying with Norris and Ricciardo in P4 and P5.
Gasly and Giovinazzi will also be relatively pleased with their qualifying efforts, sitting in P6 and P10 respectively.
All eyes will be on Verstappen tomorrow in P3 and whether he can split the two Mercedes on the front row.
COULD BE BETTER, COULD BE WORSE…
What looked like being a typically bad day for Red Bull in Monza was rescued somewhat as Verstappen managed to steal P3 from Lando Norris right at the death of Q3.
Verstappen said after the race that it was probably as good as they could have hoped for if they were being realistic and he was pretty happy with the result in the end
But after the incredible scenes at the Dutch Grand Prix following Verstappen’s triumphant win at his home race, this will feel like a little bit of an anti-climax for Max and Red Bull.
P9 for Sergio Perez will also be a bit of a disappointment after the Mexican was forced to assist Verstappen in trying to catch the two Mercedes, adding about half a second to his own time in doing so.
It would take some doing, but with the sprint qualifying tomorrow offering Verstappen a chance getting the better of Hamilton and Bottas before the race on Sunday, you certainly can’t rule him out.
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
It’s been a good day for McLaren with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo qualifying for the sprint race in P4 and P5 respectively, but they won’t help but feel a little disappointed thinking about what might have been.
Norris was P3 and Ricciardo P4 right up until the last minute of Q3 and were threatening to usurp Hamilton and Bottas, when Verstappen registered an ever so slightly faster lap to sneak in ahead.
Norris in particular drove very well in qualifying and will go into the sprint race with a restored confidence after a disappointing last couple of races.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT
It’s sheer delight for Bottas and the Mercedes team in the paddock as he came P1 after some incredible driving throughout qualifying, particularly in Q3.
This puts him ahead of championship leaders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the sprint qualification tomorrow, giving him a strong chance of winning some points ahead of the Grand Prix on Sunday.
It will be fascinating to see how this all unfolds on Sunday…
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
