Kimi Raikkon is out on super-soft tyres and sets a personal best but, to give you an idea of how quick the Mercedes are, it's only good enough for P4 and 1.1secs slower than Lewis Hamilton.

Kristin Ruth Plant: Don't go changing Max...you're a breath of fresh air.

littlechristy: "to finish first, first you have to finish". Verstappen needs to remember that

DJ Reynolds: Why??? He has all the makings of a world champion.. People pay to watch racing not a procession !!!!

Max Verstappen goes around on some soft tyres and doesn't improve. He is down in P6, 1.7secs down on Lewis Hamilton.

I said it was Fabio Basile!

Gold medal for me.

Sebastian Vettel was pretty impressed by the judoka's Rio 2016 hardware.

With 15 minutes left, Lewis Hamilton's stonking lap still leads the pack.

Nico Rosberg is back out on a used set of super-softs, so don't expect him to challenge.

Image source, Getty Images

Harold Hinfelaar: Do we want excitement or fall asleep during races? #bbcf1

Katie Williams/Kem: I think he us a victim of 'mature' adults bigging him up too much. Gone to his head!

Alec Berry: I think Verstappen is building his reputation as a bold racer, to dilute that would make him more like Rosberg and less like Hamilton 

Some interesting words from Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer on BBC Radio 5 live.

He's asked whether Sergio Perez will be leaving the team in the winter and the response is unequivocally "no".

"He is contracted."

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton both slip on some super-soft tyres.

Rosberg goes quickest but then Hamilton slaps the German's time out of the park with a 1:22.008. That's four tenths quicker than Rosberg - an absolute show of intent and strength from the world champion.

Image source, Getty Images

Dan Hague: Verstappen needs to take on board what hes doing wrong, listen to the experienced guys and learn from it, just like everyone else

PhilSlocombe: Ferrari's won't find it easy to pass Max after unfairly criticising him over the first corner crash caused by Vettel.

Daniel Lormans: If Verstappen is penalised or reprimanded I will stop watching. F1 is boring enough already. Let them race!!

I don't think Max has developed a sense of irony yet.

This is how close Nico Rosberg got to Max Verstappen when the Dutchman was daydreaming earlier.

Kimi Raikkonen is good at just walking past things like they're not happening.

Last year at Monza, the Ice Man barely flinched when Minttu Virtanen lost a shoe in the paddock.

Kimi doesn't stop for shoes. Kimi doesn't stop for girlfriends. Kimi does stop for Max Verstappen, though.

Image source, Rex Features

Both Mercedes and both Red Bulls have pitted, but here comes Max Verstappen in his out lap, weaving across the road to warm up those tyres.

Image source, Getty Images

I mean, she looks like a legit nurse.

An incredibly brave photographer dared to get in the way of Kimi Raikkonen and wife Minttu Virtanen earlier today.

It seemed the photographer did not get the same treatment as Max Verstappen though...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Plenty of chat about how quick the McLaren's were yesterday, but they have work to do. Jenson Button is in P10, with Fernando Alonso in P12.

Sebastian Vettel takes P2 from Nico Rosberg, but on the quicker super-soft tyres and there's only two hundredths of a second between them.

Here's Grosjean doing his beached whale impression earlier.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Monza

Image source, Getty Images

There is a lot of speculation this weekend about the driver market, with Williams and Jenson Button at the centre of it. Felipe Massa’s retirement announcement does not change much, in the sense that it was well known Williams would not keep him.

The word is that Williams are set to give their second seat alongside Valtteri Bottas - on whom they have an option they are highly likely to take up - to the Canadian Lance Stroll. He is leading the Formula Three Euroseries and has a vast budget - at least £20m.

Button looks unlikely to get that seat, or keep his McLaren drive in the face of the likely promotion of Stoffel Vandoorne, although the 2009 world champion potentially has a chance at Renault if he feels he as the energy to commit to another two years of developing a currently uncompetitive team.

Force India’s Sergio Perez is also talking to Williams and Renault, who at this stage do not want to keep either of their current drivers.