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Formula 1 Italian GP

F1 Italian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action from the 14th round of the 2023 Formula 1 season

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Carlos Sainz sent the tifosi home happy on Friday as the Ferrari driver topped the timesheets in FP2 from McLaren's Lando Norris

Max Verstappen - who can score a record-breaking 10th grand prix victory in succession this weekend - was only fifth fastest but found traffic on his soft tyre run, while team-mate Sergio Perez was third but ended his session in the gravel at Parabolica. 

In a bid to avoid the chaotic scenes of recent years at Monza, the FIA has implemented a minimum lap time designed to stop drivers from crawling at low speed in order to create space for a hot lap. 

FP3 will get under way at 11:30 BST with qualifying following at 15:00 BST. 

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The early times come in and Magnussen sets a 1:22.853s to continue his impressive FP3 performance.
A reminder, Q1 must be completed on hard tyres and drivers will take several laps to get heat into their tyres. But then, the tow is vitally important, so expect plenty of traffic problems!
But here they all come! Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Tsunoda - I could list almost all 20 drivers to be honest! They're all heading out!
No one is in any kind of rush to take to the track yet...very quiet...
The music has played and we're in the final throws before going green!
One driver beyond the usual suspects to watch out for is Albon. The Williams driver has been particularly competitive on the hard and medium compounds, meaning he is a strong contender to reach Q3.
Rosberg has described the policing of track limits as "tedious". It is, however, a case of the rules being the rules, and the track limits being the track limits.
Good news for Perez fans, after completing an engine change, the Red Bull mechanics appear to have his car all but ready to take part in Q1 without delay!
You may have noticed that the scenery has changed at Monza this year with many trees missing. There are, in fact, around 10,000 trees missing after recent storms caused many to fall. The full story is here...

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-monza-lost-an-iconic-element-ahead-of-f1-2023/10514670/
Red Bull has been working since FP3 to repair an oil leak it discovered on Perez's car in the closing stages of that session. Following a crash in FP2 on Friday, it is another weekend that - so far - could have gone far better for the Mexican.
So far this weekend, we have seen traffic play a significant part in the sessions. As this is again supposed to be the case in qualifying, the FIA has acted to set a minimum lap time that drivers must adhere to

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fia-moves-to-avoid-f1-traffic-chaos-at-monza/10514836/
This is the latest trial of the format and is just part of F1's bid to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Before we go any further, time for a little bit of housekeeping. This weekend is running to the alternate tyre allocation system, which means drivers must use the hard compound in Q1, medium in Q2 and softs in Q3.
However, Verstappen has again been a constant threat, with less than one-tenth separating the pair on Saturday morning.
Ferrari and specifically Carlos Sainz have been the surprise package this weekend so far with the Spaniard topping both FP2 and FP3.
Good afternoon and welcome to Monza for qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
We'll take a lunch break now but never fear we'll be back for the pre-qualifying build-up, with Q1 under way at 3pm BST. Until then, go well!
Here's the full report on Italian GP final practice: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-italian-gp-fp3-report/10514978/

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Photo by: Erik Junius

Small shoutout to Lawson in 12th, who beat Tsunoda by 0.001s in that session. Given he's only had three and a bit days in that car, that's an impressive feat.
So, an eventful session that ends with Sainz on top by 0.086s from Verstappen and then a significant half-second gap to Hamilton and the rest.
Sainz has been shown the black and white flag for impeding Piastri, as TV replays show the Australian steaming into the first corner but is greeted by the Ferrari going slowly right in his way. The pair made slight contact but no major damage done.
The timing screen has provided a correction that Hamilton didn't spin but that he just went off the track earlier.
Leclerc's second go on the softs puts him fourth, but over half a second off his team-mate at the top.
Meanwhile Hamilton has spun at the second chicane but has been able to continue.
Piastri and Sainz have been noted for causing a collision at the first chicane. We've not seen that incident but that is very unusual for practice.
Perez's Red Bull has sprung a leak which has caused his session to end early. Will that impact his qualifying with just two and a half hours to go before the start of Q1?
Alonso picks himself back up to fourth and splits the Mercedes pair with five minutes to go in FP3.
Here come the Ferraris! Sainz goes quickest with a 1m20.912s, but Leclerc backs out of his lap as he runs wide at the second Lesmo.
Bottas runs onto the gravel going into the Ascari chicane which messes up his Alfa Romeo's lovely livery.
"I don't know how to find that half a second," Hamilton replies on team radio when he's told of the gap to Verstappen.
Bad news for Perez, his session is over early due to a mechanical issue with his Red Bull. He won't get a final run on the softs like his rivals.
Plenty of lap time gains coming in, as Alonso goes fourth and Magnussen goes fifth. But nobody can live with Verstappen who puts in a 1m20.998s to go almost half a second faster.
Albon, still on hards, improves again with a 1m22.054s but stays fourth.
Time for the final quali simulation runs, as Russell goes second before team-mate Hamilton pushes him down as he goes top with a 1m21.453s.
Stroll, making up for effectively getting zero laps on Friday, has stuck to the harder compounds in this session which explains why he is rooted to the bottom of the times.
Hulkenberg's soft tyre run cannot match team-mate Magnussen but he still slots into seventh. The German locked up going into Turn 1 on his first push lap so it wasn't the cleanest of runs.

By: Autosport Staff

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