F1 Italian GP live commentary and updates – qualifying

THAT'S IT FROM QUALIFYING AT MONZA

We'll leave you with an image of ex-Ferrari F1 driver and multiple Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 312B2 he drove in period. Pasta magnate, F1 sponsor and former Minardi F1 driver Paolo Barilla looks on.

Is he saying "Penne for your thoughts"?

Paolo Barilla, Jacky Ickx, Ferrari 312 B2

Photo by: Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty Images

FRONT ROW SEAT

So we have Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on the front row tomorrow, with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc lining up behind them. Lots of drivers determined to make their mark tomorrow - at a circuit where Turn 1 on the opening lap is always dicey. Should be fun!

MAX FACTOR

"Around here with the lower downforce it's always difficult to nail the lap," says Max.

"For us to be on pole here is fantastic."

Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in P4 and P5, separated by a tenth of a second.

At the risk of being accused of 'copium', we'll describe that as a decent day at the office for Ferrari and Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images

P1 to P10 in Q3 was 0.727s.

Sadly for Red Bull, P10 is Max's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Reminder: last year Verstappen was P7 with 1m20.022s, seven tenths off pole position.

No improvement for Leclerc so he is immediately usurped by Oscar Piastri. But Norris goes through next and is faster still – provisional pole!

But then Max Verstappen swoops through and pulls 1m18.792s from somewhere. Extraordinary. Norris's best lap of the weekend ultimately proved not enough.

Verstappen faster by 0.077s. "Relax, Pierre, it's all good," he says on the radio. Tech director Pierre Wache will be pleased.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Thompson - Getty Images

Not the first time Mercedes has been better on the mediums than softs in qualifying, but that was when the C6 was the soft tyre at Imola, if memory serves.

Russell says he wanted mediums. Well, he's got softs.

Second runs are under way. Yuki Tsunoda has drawn the short straw and is running in front on track. Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Norris also on out laps.

Verstappen, Russell, Bortoleto, Antonelli and Alonso now joining them.

Straight-lining Turn 1 in Q2 has compounded into more problems for Lando Norris. This session has turned messier than Gregg Wallace's sock drawer.

Well well well, Lando Norris just P7 after those first runs and with a gap of 0.510s to make up. That's usually his advantage to the rest of the field.

To quote the chap who used to present TV's Catchphrase, it's good – but it's not the right answer.

Norris's 1m19.433s is OK but no great shakes compared with his previous laps and he's immediately surmounted in P1 by Oscar Piastri, who does a 1m19.056s.

And by Hamilton, Russell and Bortoleto.

Meanwhile Charles Leclerc asks his to hold on to his Peroni – 1m19.007 is provisional pole!

But no sooner have we passed Charles back his bottle of Peroni than Max Verstappen thrusts a pint of Hertog Jan into our sweating palms.

P1 for Max – 1m18.923s. Stitch that!

Q3 AHOY

And we're rolling again. Norris the first driver to try to get a lap on the board – with no tow this time...

push it

Famously, of course, Salt 'n' Pepa had a hit with Push It.

Norris scraped into Q3 with a push-cool-cool-push run plan at the death. Yesterday in FP2 he went P1 after doing a push-cool-push, having made a mistake on his first lap.

Interestingly, Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra was asked if this was a way of getting the best out of the soft tyre last night and he said no.

"No, I don't think they will go for a preparation lap," he said.

"I think the key is pretty much to have the front axle in the window. The rear axle is quite easy to have in the proper temperature window while the front, you know, it's more complicated because you have long straights.

"Also, I think C5 (soft) will be a single-lap tyre tomorrow. Basically, you can recover some performance we have seen today, but not 100% of performance.

"So you are able, if the track is evolving, to replicate the lap time or to slightly improve the lap time, but anyway new tyres are much faster. So there could be possibility for the top teams especially to run with a used tyre if they want to save some new tyres for Q3, but otherwise I don't see any benefit to use a used tyre."

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images

It's fair to say that the picture has not been one of McLaren dominance so far but first to last in Q2 were separated by 0.567s.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images

So we bid goodbye to Bearman, who was edged out by Yuki Tsunoda. Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon and Ocon also report to the media 'pen' to explain yourselves, please.

Norris also benefits from a tow from Gabriel Bortoleto down the back straight. It's not a great lap – P5, 1m19.293s, 0.153s off Verstappen's P1 time which still stands from Max's first run.

P8 for Hamilton, 1m19.371s. Norris currently P11, so that final push lap needs to be good.

Our 'driver tracker' suggests Piastri has given Norris a tow down the main straight at the beginning of his final lap, unseen on the main TV feed.

Norris P10...

Drop zone is currently Bearman, Alonso, Ocon, Albon and Hulkenberg.

Ocon improves but not enough - but Bearman goes P9 (for now!)

Sainz and Albon back out, Sainz on new softs.

Piastri now P3 with a 1m19.291s, 0.151s off Russell.

Looking perilous too for Lewis Hamilton, currently P9 with 1m19.481s. Just 0.341s off P1 and yet he's on the cusp of elimination!

Albon's 1m20.107s isn't good enough to lift him out of the drop zone. Sainz goes P9 for now with 1m19.542.

Make that P10 as Norris goes P7 with 1m19.451.

Looks like both Williams will be out in Q2.

Six minutes to go and the drop zone consists of Alonso, Ocon, Albon, Hulkenberg and Norris.

The challenge for Norris is that he is now out of sync with the other runners, most of whom have retired to the pits. Only Sainz and Albon with him on the track. 

Norris is told "push, cool, cool, push" in terms of his run plan for the coming laps.

Verstappen still P1. Russell P2 with 1m19.287s. Oscar Piastri now P3 with 1m19.291s. So the top three separated by 0.151s.

NORRIS IN TROUBLE?

Lando Norris is told "we need to box this lap" when he's on his first flier - he does, and the lap is flagged for deletion because he went over track limits at Turn 1.

Barely have we clicked 'send' than Max Verstappen goes P1 with a 1m19.140s.

Sainz goes P1 (of course!) with his first lap, a 1m20.239s. We shall soon see that improved upon - but not by Alex Albon, who has a slippery moment in Ascari and crosses the line 1.181s slower than his team-mate.

Other cars on out-laps now so we shall soon be in the 19s again.

We hear from Racing Bulls that new gearbox/PU components for Hadjar are "not confirmed, but likely".

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Q2 IS GO!

Just the two Williams cars on track as the session begins.

Hadjar out in Q1 is possibly the biggest surprise given his form in Zandvoort and pace earlier this weekend. There is some noise doing the rounds to the effect that he might be taking a grid penalty anyway by taking new PU/gearbox components; we're investigating this development.

Albon just squeezes a quick-ish lap out of those used softs and goes P15.

That puts Hadjar back in the drop zone (P16) along with Stroll, Colapinto, Gasly and Lawson.

System indicates Liam Lawson had his last flying lap deleted for a track limits infraction.

So George Russell is fastest in Q1, on mediums! (*according to the occasionally unreliable info system). Oscar Piastri only P10.

The intrigue will continue in Q2 in just a moment.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Hadjar, Gasly, Antonelli, Colapinto and Lawson currently in the drop zone. F1 TV following Antonelli's lap, naturally – he improves, but only to 0.333s off P1. 

Hadjar gets himself out of the drop zone but only just - P15.

Norris registering on our system as running on used softs at the moment, as is Oscar Piastri (currently P7), Max Verstappen and Alex Albon. Everyone else on new softs.

OK, a mass scramble for the pit exit. Nobody feels safe – apart from George Russell, who remains parked.

Esteban Ocon out first and he gets on the radio to exercise his frustration. No other choice, says his engineer.

Esteban will be making a hole in the air for everyone else, then.

So the field is separated by just 0.865s right now. A brief lull in track action as everyone considers their options.

Norris also improved with his next flyer but is currently lying 0.197s off Russell. He's safe, we reckon.

What a lap by Alonso in the draggy Aston Martin. 1m19.698s. That's now P4.

Five minutes remaining.