Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature at Monza is 33.1C, with track temperature 48.5C. Light wind from the south. Dry, with no risk of rain.

Current FIA forecast assessment for the race tomorrow is for similar temperature & a very low (<20%) risk of a shower.

BBC Sounds

Jennie Gow, F1 Academy leader Abbi Pulling and Harry Benjamin are ready to take us through what we hope will be a thrilling session.

Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, or ask BBC Sounds to play Italian Grand Prix qualifying via your smart speakers.

Image source, harry Benjamin

Image source, Getty Images

Zandvoort was the dream weekend for Lando Norris, with the McLaren driver claiming pole position, the race win - after losing the lead off the start to Max Verstappen - and the extra point for fastest lap at the Dutch Grand Prix.

With a 70-point deficit in the drivers' championship to overhaul (which is a huge task), Norris needs another flawless performance to keep the heat on Verstappen's title lead.

On Thursday, the 24-year-old, who has three poles this season, said he "gets so nervous" before qualifying, and then added on Sunday's, he can "barely eat anything" because of "nerves and pressure".

“But it's how you turn that into a positive, how do you not let it affect you in a bad way and how do you use it in a good way to help you focus on the correct things?" he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Monza has been a happy hunting ground for Max Verstappen in the past seasons, with last year's event being a particular highlight when he claimed a record-breaking 10th consecutive win on his way to a third World Championship.

And while he's still 70 points ahead of Lando Norris in this year's title battle, the Dutchman has not stood on the top step of the podium since the Spanish Grand Prix in June - although he has taken two poles since then, in Austria and Belgium.

During third practice this morning, Verstappen highlighted his Red Bull's lack of grip, while team-mate Sergio Perez said at the end of the session there were vibrations coming from the front of his car.

Williams team principal James Vowles has given us an insight into what qualifying strategies we could see being used on the resurfaced track at Monza.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "The old way of qualifying in Monza was you want to be tucked behind the car for the tow. I think it's now changed to 'you've got to get your out lap right'".

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Carlos Sainz is taking part in his final qualifying for Ferrari at Monza before he heads off to join Williams for the 2025 season.

Last year, the Spaniard's day at the Italian circuit could not have gone any better, after he pipped Red Bull's Max Verstappen to pole position by 0.013 seconds in a gripping session.

In 2022, the enthusiastic tifosi cheered on Charles Leclerc as he beat Verstappen to the front-row spot by 0.145 seconds.

Saturday's celebrations were not converted into Sunday triumphs, however, as the Dutchman inflicted a home defeat on the Scuderia in both races.

Ferrari have come stacked with upgrades to this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, with nine in total. Following Friday's practice sessions, and after a run of aerodynamic instability since their Spain update, Leclerc said: "everything we brought to the car seems to be working as expected, which is always a good thing".

Image source, Getty Images

With another piece of the 2025 puzzle in place, what do you think of Mercedes' signing of Kimi Antonelli?

The F1 Q&A is open for any questions you may have for BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson on this topic, or anything else happening going on in the sport.

Send us your thoughts via the link here

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On potentially signing Max Verstappen for 2026 if he was to come available, Toto Wolff told Sky Sports: "Over the last few years we've had an open channel, there were times when we were discussing more and times when we were discussing less.

"We have a commitment to our drivers to give it our best effort and this is George [Russell] and Kimi [Antonelli], I am not flirting sideways whilst we are giving it all that effort, and that is why for the moment it is a pause."

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff spoke to Sky Sports before qualifying on the signing of Kimi Antonelli, and how he fared in practice on Friday.

"He's special - when you look at this karting track record and the junior formulas, that was really good. There's a few things he needs to learn - like yesterday, the difference between practice and qualifying, we need to calibrate him, but he's so fast and it was a pleasure to watch before it ended in the wall. You will see him in one more practice session this season."

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The weekend so far at Monza has been a tricky one for Kevin Magnussen.

After spinning off and crashing into the barriers during second practice yesterday, the Dane came to a stop at the side of the track at the end of today's final practice session.

Haas have given an update on the situation via X: "After Kevin’s end of FP3 stop on track, we’ll be replacing his gearbox ahead of Quali.

"He’s still within his allowance, so no penalty."

Image source, Getty Images

Temperatures for today's pole fight will reach highs of 34 degrees but there will be some cloud around the Italian circuit this afternoon.

The chances of some refreshing rain arriving to cool down fans and provide a twist in the qualifying tale? Virtually zero.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome back, folks. This could be the tightest qualifying session we've seen so far this season, with just 0.145 seconds separating Lewis Hamilton in P1 and McLaren's Lando Norris in fifth by the end of final practice.

The fight for Italian Grand Prix pole gets under way at 15:00 BST.

Commentary is online-only, so you'll need to click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page to tune in. Alternatively, ask BBC Sounds to play Italian Grand Prix qualifying via your smart speaker.

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Lewis Hamilton will be welcomed into the tifosi family next year when he becomes the latest driver to take the wheel at Ferrari.

But after topping second and third practice at Monza in his final season with Mercedes, is the seven-time world champion about to break Italian hearts and put his car on pole position on the Scuderia's home turf?

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Monza

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton led a closely packed field in final practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two by 0.093 seconds over team-mate George Russell.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were all within 0.145secs of Hamilton.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, leading Norris in the championship by 70 points, was only sixth fastest, 0.251secs off the pace, and complaining of a lack of front grip.

Carlos Sainz was seventh for Ferrari, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, whose new team-mate Franco Colapinto was ninth, 0.309secs behind.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

The closeness of the field makes it hard to pick a favourite for pole position, with qualifying starting at 15:00 BST.

Sergio Perez was on the Red Bull team radio after that session to say: "There seems to be some vibrations coming from the front, from the engine". His engineer replied they'll investigate.

With Max Verstappen also struggling, will the constructors' champions be in the fight for pole position this afternoon?

Let's box this live and take a break, then come back together for qualifying build-up at 14:30 BST.

Lights go green for Q1 at 15:00 BST.

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)

13. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

18. Sergio Perez Perez (Red Bull)

19. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

Image source, Getty Images

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:20.117

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.093

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.109

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.135

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.145

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.251

7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.346

8. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.479

9. Franco Colapinto (Williams) +0.788

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +0.826

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Kevin Magnussen has had to pull to the side of the road, he's not been able to make it back to the pits. He doesn't look like he's picked up any damage, he hasn't crashed into a wall but he's just come to a stop.

There's trouble for Kevin Magnussen, who is told to stop by his Haas pit wall. The Dane is now sitting patiently waiting to be rescued while the rest of the field file past him.