15:39
That was painful for Lawson. Red Bull begin their laps as the rest of the field are filing out of the pits, and Piastri gets in the way of Lawson. Nothing he could have done there. Lawson improves his time but remains in P13. He is out!
Gasly takes pole for Monza
© XPB Images
F1 Monza LIVE: Reaction after Gasly takes shock Italian GP pole
Live coverage of Saturday at the F1 Italian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli and Lawson set for back-of-the-grid starts
- George Russell fastest in FP2 and FP3
- Gasly's Monaco F1 penalty reapplied
The 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Temple of Speed will be bathed in Ferrari Rosso for the weekend, but this colouring is likely to be broken up by fans sporting home hero Kimi Antonelli's merchandise.
The Mercedes driver arrives at Monza with a 59-point advantage over both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, but faces a tough task on Sunday, as an engine penalty, confirmed by his team, will see him start from the back of the grid.
Ferrari has brought its upgraded power unit to the track for the first time, in a bid to close the gap on front-runners Mercedes and McLaren, with Lando Norris having triumphed on the last two weekends for the latter. McLaren has also debuted its rotating rear wing, which it has called the H-Wing.
Super-clipping is expected to be a significant issue this weekend, especially on the run to Turn 1 in the race, with energy being spent down the back straight, no heavy braking for the Parabolica, and the main straight immediately following. How drivers manage their energy will be more crucial than ever this weekend.
Ferrari set the early pace on Friday with Charles Leclerc leading a Ferrari 1-2 in FP1, before Geroge Russell moved Mercedes to the top in the later session.
2026 Italian Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
05 Sep 2026
15:38
Leclerc leads out Hamilton onto the track. Leclerc is only ninth fastest so far, so this could get painful for Ferrari.
15:37
Lawson remains 13th on his effort as Verstappen goes to fifth. There isn't really time to switch the positions and try to get Lawson through.
15:35
In the drop zone right now are Hamilton, Bearman, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Sainz, and Ocon.
15:34
But the McLaren drivers are now leading with a 1-2. Piastri is the lead driver with a 1m22.017s!
Again, Gasly looks strong in third place.
Both Ferraris were on used tyres, but Hamilton is in the drop zone. He has it all to do in the final run of Q2.
15:33
Antonelli goes to the top before Russell immediately goes clear again with a 1m22.161s.
15:31
Other than the three with times, the remaining 13 drivers are now all out on the track.
15:30
Verstappen has found a tenth on his Q1 time already, and tops the initial times of the three drivers to have registered so far. A 1m22.573s is his best.
However, he has reported that the car is broken on the rear axle again, with the issue coming mainly in the slower corners.
15:26
Q2 begins
The green lights show, Verstappen, Lawson, and Sainz head out, and Q2 is underway.
15:25
Aston Martin doing Aston Martin things.
15:20
Alpine enjoying the moment!
15:19
Out in Q1
Out in Q1 are:
17. Tsuonda
18. Albon
19. Bottas
20. Perez
21. Alonso
22. Stroll
15:18
Hulkenberg improves to P14 to knock out Tsunoda! Albon is out, and the bottom six are locked in.
15:18
Norris improves to P3 as Lindblad is fifth.
15:17
There are improvements almost everywhere on the timing screen. Crucially, Hulkenberg is one.
15:17
Piastri locks up at Turn 1, and his lap is over.
15:16
Alonso is out of the car, and he will start near the back, possibly ahead only of the drivers with penalties.
15:16
Only Verstappen in P2 and the two Ferrari drivers have elected to remain in the garages. Alonso is also in the garage in P20, and he is almost out of time if he's going to get another lap in.
15:15
On a clear track, Lawson is improving with the soft tyres now fitted to his Red Bull. He crosses the line and it's a 1m22.989s. He only moves up two positions to 10th.
15:13
Of those in the bottom six, it's only likely that Hulkenberg and Albon could improve. However, with Albon taking a grid penalty, Williams may elect to save the engine mileage.
15:11
With seven minutes remaining, the bottom six are Albon, Ocon, Alonso, Bottas, Perez, and Stroll.
A stat to note, this could be Stroll's 100th Q1 exit. He's almost three seconds off Hulkenberg in P16.
15:09
Somewhat of a surprise, Gasly has gone fastest for Alpine, with Colapinto third!
15:08
They complete the laps, with Antonelli second and Russell third - although the latter was on medium tyres.
15:08
Mercedes is practicing the tow for later on in the day. Antonelli is a good few seconds clear of Russell and it's only a distant tow, but this is all good practice to judge the distances needed.
15:07
Norris gets his time in this time around and it's a 1m23.004s.