F1 Italian GP live commentary and updates – qualifying

WELCOME BACK TO MONZA

And remember we're coming up to 4pm local time so don't even think of ordering a cappuccino – just don't, right?

When we last left our F1 protagonists, Lando Norris had topped an FP3 session in which the entire field was separated by less than a second.

Although Charles Leclerc looked tasty on his final flier, stopping the clocks just milliseconds aft of Norris, subsequent analysis of his on-boards revealed he picked up a handy tow from a Haas on the main straight at the start of his lap.

We won't tell the people asking for his autograph!

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

In other news, you may have heard sundry paddock blowhards speculating about Yuki Tsunoda's immediate and near future. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has definitively ruled out an immediate swap between Yuki and Isack Hadjar. Next year? Decision not imminent. 

Less than 10 minutes to go before the green light and we're in that febrile period for the TV broadcasters where they've run through all their talking points, and have to resort to claiming that so-and-so isn't going to be able to go out in qualifying because some mechanics are still working on the back of the car.

WE'RE OFF!

Cars filing out of the pitlane. Don't forget, as we narrow down towards Q3, that Lewis Hamilton has a five place grid penalty carried over from Zandvoort. There is speculation that he may be called upon to give team-mate Leclerc a tow.

Monza echoes to the cheer of the crowd as Sir Lewis Hamilton peels out of the pitlane in his 1970s-themed Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Russell and Antonelli out on mediums while everybody else is lapping on softs.

Charles Leclerc fastest for now, 1m19.801s. Russell and Antonelli do 1m19.973s and 1m20.205s. That's good for P4 and P5 for now. They will have enough life in those tyres for another push lap for sure - the question is how much will the track ramp up later in Q1? And has Antonelli done enough for now? He's 0.4s off P1 and that is perilous for the cut-off once everyone has had a couple of runs.

Leclerc's time as king of the castle was bound to end as soon as the McLarens came out – and, lo, it has come to pass as Norris goes quickest with 1m19.611s. Piastri P2 with 1m19.711s.

P4 for Verstappen on that first run, 1m19.812s. A scrappy lap but just 0.201s off Norris.

Antonelli is still lapping on that set of mediums, Russell has gone into the pits and come back out again on the same set. The young Italian is currently P13 and dropping every time someone else puts in a quick lap. He's very much in danger.

Scratch that – Fernando Alonso goes P2, the laptimes tumble, Antonelli is P15 and the situation is becoming critical.

Yes, Antonelli's flying lap is 1m20.151 – not enough of an improvement.

Russell goes P1 with 1m19.414s. Looks like he's made the medium-tyre tactic work!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

Q2 IS GO!

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

Sainz and Albon back out, Sainz on new softs.

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

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

Norris P10...

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 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.

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.

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

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

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...

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!

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.

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.