F1 Italian GP live commentary and updates – race

Max Piastri looking impassive on the grid, where he starts from the second row. Does nothing move this man beyond the horizontal? Is there any subject on which he has a strong opinion? 

Sadly our colleagues in the paddock have yet to quiz him on important matters of moment, such as whether Pierce Brosnan is miscast in The Thursday Murder Club. We thought Ray Winstone would probably have been a more appropriate East End agitator-type figure – ironic, eh, since in Robin of Sherwood Ray was peculiarly miscast as a Cockney Will Scarlet. But we digress.

It's looking like we have a one-stop race in prospect, thanks to that new asphalt laid down ahead of last year's grand prix.

Last year, of course, everybody expected it to be a two-stopper until Ferrari mugged McLaren for the victory.

Please be upstanding for the Italian national anthem.

Lance Stroll blanking Martin Brundle and Nico Rosberg on the Sky Sports F1 grid walk. They will be weeping real tears tonight having missed out on some sparkling conversation.

RACE DAY AT MONZA

Glorious blue skies, whispering trees, la pista magica – what a day to be alive!

Max Verstappen starts from pole although in recent years that's been no guarantee of victory.

Ferrari legend Jean Alesi has been entertaining the crowd with some laps in a classic 1990s Ferrari 412 T2.

This was not only the last V12-powered F1 car, it was also the source of much vexation for designer John Barnard, who complained he had to compromise the aerodynamics around the sidepods because the engine department had been economical with the truth about the V12's cooling requirements...

Jean Alesi drives the Ferrari 412 T2 during the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2025 in Monza, Italy, on September 6, 2025. (Photo by Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images