Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Lap 2/53 Verstappen is in third now, taking out Ricciardo and Perez and Sainz collide. Hamilton is still 19th, and actually very little has changed from the original grid. Lap 1/53 Leclerc starts ok but Russell starts really well and they are together but Leclerc holds the position and Verstappen is motoring! He’s fourth now, up from seventh! Leclerc is slowing everyone down, but those in front will have to wait a bit for everyone else to get ready. This should get the nerves rolling nicely as we race away… The round of formation is coming… I can’t lie, I thought Daniel Ricciardo would go on to bigger things than he has been. He starts fourth on the grid, his best position since this GP last term, and it’s time for him to fulfill his potential as a driver. Most drivers will stop once, it is believed, with the medium on soft tires being the most likely tire use. Verstappen tells Sky that although he is favourite, Ferrari are competitive this weekend – but P2 should be possible for him. He’s not here to break hearts, he’s just here to do his best, and even though Red Bull don’t need to win, they want to win. It’s a very nice day in Monza. Not so with North London. The Frecce Tricolori of the Italian Air Force perform some stunts before the start of the race. Photo: Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters Updated at 13.57 BST Christian Horner believes it will be difficult to catch Ferrari today and won’t reveal his strategy, but says you have to survive the first two chicanes, which are channeled into a narrow section of track. If Verstappen can do that, they will start thinking about overtaking. Verstappen drives with maturity, he thinks, and notes that they don’t have to win this race, they just have to score nicely. Updated at 13.42 BST Let’s go! Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, says he was happy with the lap that brought him pole, and that he and Sainz Jr went for pole to try and keep Verstappen as low as possible. He says “Max and Red Bull were on another planet at Spa” but they worked hard to find out why that was and are in a good place for this race. Nyck de Vries, a latecomer for his first GP, tells us he’s changing his seat position and has some bruises on his shoulders, but he doubts he’ll notice once we leave. It’s affecting the right confidence and I can’t wait to see how it does, not only today but in the years to come. Updated at 14.01 BST We’ve been talking about Hamilton already starting next season, but do we think he’ll still be at Mercedes? I’m not sure where else he could go, but I can’t see him hanging around unless things are going to get a lot better. I also wonder if at some point Mercedes plans to have George Russell as their number one driver… “Esteban,” Gavin Herbert begins. “Not this?” To my shame, I haven’t seen this photo, but I promise to deal with it. Somewhere else… All these penalties will make for an unusual GP, I think. In general, it is not easy to overtake at Monza, but with such a low pace, we could easily have three or four carves in the field.
Grid Penalties
Yes, I should have mentioned them below, so forgive me. We need to do something about this because it doesn’t make sense to have qualifiers and have things change so much afterwards – anyone have any ideas? Definitely: Verstappen – Five-place grid penalty for power unit component change Ocon – Five-place grid penalty for power unit component change Perez – 10-place grid penalty for power unit component change Bottas – 15-place grid penalty due to multiple power unit component changes Magnussen – 15-place grid penalty due to multiple changes power unit components Schumacher – 15-place grid penalty due to power unit and gearbox component changes Hamilton – Start at the back of the grid due to multiple power unit component changes Sainz Jr – Start at the back of the grid due to multiple power unit component changes (run twice ), 10-place grid penalty for gearbox component changes Tsunoda – Starting at the back of the grid due to multiple power unit component changes, 10-place grid penalty for collecting five reprimands, three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags There will be 336,000 people enjoying Monza this weekend. This is both brilliant and ridiculous. I believe I’m not the only one who thinks this every time they see the name Esteban.
Grid
1 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 2 George Russell (Mercedes) 3 Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) 4 Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren-Mercedes) 5 Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 6 Fernando Alonso (Alpine-Renault) 7 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 8 Nyck de Vries (Williams-Mercedes) 9 Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 10 Nikolaos Latifi (Williams-Mercedes) 11 Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 12 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 13 Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 14 Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault) 15 Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 16 Kevin Magnussen (Haas-Ferrari) 17 Mick Schumacher (Haas-Ferrari) 18 Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 19 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 20 Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri-Red Bull)
Preamble
After all the hilarity and controversy at the end of last year, things have calmed down this season – but the result looks to be the same: Max Verstappen won the world championship. He leads the drivers’ standings by 109 points from Sergio Pérez and, although he starts today from seventh on the grid following a power unit change penalty, he has won the last two races from 10th and 14th. good luck to everyone else. The question, then, is whether Verstappen can continue to dominate, and while we won’t find out anytime soon, there’s plenty to keep us entertained in the meantime. Lewis Hamilton, still trying to get his Mercedes sorted, starts from the back row after several power unit component changes and, in a sense, has already started next season, while, up front, Charles Leclerc is under pressure to deliver for Ferrari and the tifosi and, behind him, George Russell is in the process of establishing himself as a serious force, as is Lando Norris. Well, we have a lot to go on – of course we do – and the special atmosphere of Monza, Il Canto degli Italiani and all, will be an absolute treat. Siiiiiiiii! Lights out: 15:00 local, 14:00 BST
