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Formula 1
Italian GP
F1 Italian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 and Qualifying
The first practice session and qualifying for the sprint race at Monza
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But pole isn't everything at Monza, just ask Gasly, who qualified 10th last year and we all know what happened that weekend...
Sun
A quick check on the sky and it is very cloudy but the F1 weather forecasters predict a 0% chance of rain. Just might need headlights if the sessions get delayed with sunset only 45 minutes after the scheduled end of Q3.
Lights green
Here we go, Q1 is underway.
After a 60-second standoff a sudden rush to pit exit is on. Leclerc leads the way ahead of Ferrari team-mate Sainz which seems fitting here at Monza.
With it being the F1 sprint format this weekend, all drivers will be on the softs for each qualifying segment in this session. Easy peasy.
Stopwatch
Sainz sets the best lap time of the early runners with a 1m22.495s, while Schumacher saw his first lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Stopwatch
Verstappen goes faster but not for long as Norris puts in a 1m21.681s to go top for McLaren.
Mechanical problem
Leclerc has reported an engine issue with his Ferrari and is told to pit where his team aims to solve it during the session. He'll need it to be a quick fix with only 11 minutes of Q1 left.
Stopwatch
Here come the Mercedes drivers. Hamilton puts in a 1m20.543s to go top in Q1 with Bottas slotting into P2 almost three-tenths slower.
Meanwhile Verstappen dips his left-side wheels on to the gravel and loses time, meaning he is only P9 so far in this session.
Verstappen's next lap is ruined by a traffic jam created by some Aston Martins and Alpines, forcing the Red Bull driver to ease off. This is going to get messy.
A pitlane incident involving Leclerc and Mazepin has been noted by race control - the two drivers came out of the garage at the same time and came close to banging wheels but thankfully avoided each other.
Lots of lap times being lost for track limits; Norris, Tsunoda and Alonso among the latest to lose out. Meanwhile an incident involving Mazepin and Kubica has also been noted down. Not another one.
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"It is so difficult to drive," Leclerc reports over his Ferrari team radio, which means that his engine issue is still troubling him. But he is up to P5 and should be safe in this session.
Two minutes to go in Q1 and Vettel, Ocon, Schumacher, Mazepin and Kubica are in the drop zone.
The F1 drivers are doing a good impression of the Friday night traffic just outside of the circuit. Slow moving cars everywhere! All looking for that tow which could be the difference between Q1 and Q2.
Checkered flag
Vettel's final lap in Q1 puts him P8 so he should be safely through, that drops Tsunoda into the danger zone.
Tsunoda rescues himself, just, in P15 to see Russell drop out right on the bubble.
Hold on, Tsunoda has had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits which promotes Russell to P15 and into Q2!
Out in Q1: P16 Latifi, P17 Tsunoda, P18 Schumacher, P19 Kubica, P20 Mazepin.
There were some messy traffic incidents throughout Q1 but somehow there were no major flashpoints or any impending stewards investigations - yet!
Lights green
But on we go with Q2 which is underway!
This time both Red Bull drivers are not hanging about as Perez leads out Verstappen.
Ah, we did speak too soon - the Q1 incident involving Mazepin and Kubica will be investigated after the session. But the pitlane near-miss between Mazepin and Leclerc won't be investigated.
Anyway, back to Q2 and all 15 drivers in this session are on the track. Lap times coming up.
Stopwatch
Verstappen, with the aid of a two from team-mate Perez, goes top early with a 1m20.032s.
Not for long, as Hamilton puts in a 1m19.936s to go top, beating team-mate Bottas by one-tenth of a second.
That puts the Mercedes duo comfortably ahead of the rest. Norris slots into third place over four-tenths of a second back. Verstappen is shuffled back to P6 and Perez is only P10.
Elsewhere, Leclerc is still struggling with his engine issue, reporting over his Ferrari team radio it isn't consistently being a problem now.
Five minutes to go in Q2 and Perez is on the edge in P10 ahead of Ocon, Vettel, Sainz, Russell and Alonso.
Time for a standoff for the final Q2 runs, who blinks first?
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"Unbelievable what they are doing here!" Verstappen says over his radio. As expected, everyone comes out together and starts backing each other up.
That was messy and dangerous. In the scramble to leave the pits, an Aston Martin mechanic waving Stroll out almost gets collected by a near-miss between Hamilton and Vettel and seconds later the same thing happens with an Alpine mechanic.
Focusing on the actual laps being set, Sainz leaps up to P8 to make it into Q3, pushing Stroll into the drop zone.
Checkered flag
Out in Q2: P11 Vettel, P12 Stroll, P13 Alonso, P14 Ocon, P15 Russell.
The pitlane incident towards the end of Q2 will be investigated after qualifying. No drivers are specifically named, but you can probably include the majority of Q2 runners in that incident.
Quick nod to Giovinazzi, who is effectively racing for his F1 future, making it into Q3 once again. Making it count at the right time.
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Lights green
Time for Q3!
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