The marshals have reached Yuki Tsunoda's car and are trying to get the Alpha Tauri to a safe place.

The lights are flashing orange instead of green.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter

Is it motivation or is it pressure for the Ferrari drivers this afternoon, they've got the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

Yuki Tsunoda is on the grass already! "Engine failure," the Alpha Tauri man tells his pit wall.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's going to be bad luck to affect Red Bull, they've had the fastest car even if Sainz managed to edge out Verstappen by 13 thousandths yesterday, but you never know it can happen, things happen in Monza.

Charles Leclerc was a winner at Monza in 2019. Can he repeat that achievement from third on the grid today?

Only Lewis Hamilton in the top 10 is starting on the hard tyre. Every other driver near the front has opted for the yellow medium compound.

Image source, Reuters

With Fernando Alonso taking his place 10th on the grid and Lance Stroll propping up the field in P20, Ferrari have the chance to collect a decent haul of points at Monza and take third place away from Aston Martin - if things go their way.

Red Bull are in a league of their own out in front, while the good work done by Pierre Gasly last week at Zandvoort to finish third is unlikely to be repeated, as both drivers are starting at the back of the grid.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

As we get set to wave goodbye to European races for another year, Max Verstappen can inch closer to a third consecutive drivers' title with a record 10th win at Monza.

The gap to his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez is 138 points, with the Mexican driver starting today's race in fifth place.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start in P2 on the grid, he told Sky Sports: "The opportunities can happen at the start, they can happen later, they could not come at all so we will just have to wait and see. Usually we are quite good on the tyres and hopefully we are again today."

On potentially breaking the record for most race wins in a row, he added: "I just want to try and win the race, I'm not really thinking about a number, it would be nice to have but at the end of the day we are fighting for a championship, that's what we need to bring home, it's not about getting 10 in a row."

Image source, Getty Images

Rachel T: Please, please, please, PLEASE can we have a genuine fight for the win?

Bethonie Waring: It was Ferrari at Monza that denied McLaren a clean sweep of wins in '88. Can we hope they can do the same to Red Bull this weekend? Depends on if you want your heart broken or not.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr is taking in the atmosphere of the Italian Grand Prix.

The drivers are suiting up. Almost time for lights out.

Click the audio icon at the top of the page to listen to live commentary.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Monza

Image source, Pirelli Motorsport

One rival team principal has described the Italian Grand Prix as the “chance of the season for Ferrari”. The thinking is that because they have two cars up front against Max Verstappen, it could be difficult for the Red Bull driver to pass the Ferraris even with his expected advantage.

Ferrari have very strong top speed, so they should be in a good position to defend against Verstappen, and if he’s behind he may have to bide his time. But that all depends on the Ferraris keeping track position - and Charles Leclerc getting ahead at the start would be an added boost. There is even the suspicion that, having introduced new engines on both cars this weekend, Ferrari are doing a sort of “Monza special” by introducing a map where they push the engines as hard as they can for this race.

As for strategy, this has long been a one-stop race in ‘normal’ circumstances, teams pushed that way by a combination of low tyre degradation and a long pit-stop time of about 24-25 seconds. And this year looks no different.

In terms of tyre choices, too, there is expected to be little variation. Pirelli has chosen the three softest compounds from its range for this weekend, and according to Williams driver Alex Albon they have been “too aggressive”. “The soft tyres have been like marshmallows,” Albon said. “Everyone’s strategy will be pretty obvious.”

That translates to a medium-hard race for pretty much all cars, probably, although a few will doubtless invert that. The soft is likely to come into play only if degradation is low and the medium can be run longer than expected, making a late 15-17-lap stint on softs a viable option.

Overtaking is harder than might be expected on a track with such long straights and big braking zones.Pit stop time loss under a safety car is 17-18 seconds, the DRS effect is worth 0.5-0.7secs per lap.

One of the fastest and most iconic race circuits, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was constructed in 110 days in 1922 and was part of the original Formula 1 calendar in 1950.

Cars are on full throttle for 80% of the lap and the lap record of 1:21.046 is still held by former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello in 2004.

Image source, BBC Sport

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature is 28.8C and the track 42.8C. Hazy sunshine with high cloud; no risk of any showers. Light wind from SW-W.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is chatting to Sky Sports on the grid but the dance tunes are banging out the speakers in all directions. The tifosi are well and truly getting pumped up for this race.

Italian national anthem time and the crowd all stand up in unison. Three singers in black suits are belting it out in front of the drivers, teams and dignitaries on the grid.

Keeping it simple and finishing off with a flypast.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Monza

Carlos Sainz walks back down the pit lane after placing his Ferrari on pole following the reconnaissance laps before the Italian Grand Prix, cheered by the Ferrari fan club grandstand.

Image source, Andrew Benson

World and Olympic high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi has been jumping over F1 cars earlier today.

Image source, Getty Images

Will Monza be able to match the bonkers energy of last week's national anthem entertainment at the Dutch Grand Prix that saw violinist and conductor Andre Rieu, an orchestra dressed like Disney princesses and a DJ on his decks, blasting out tunes, as the drivers watched on.

We'll find out shortly...

Image source, Getty Images

Having clear road in front of you when the lights go out at Monza is a huge advantage, as several drivers have taken the chequered flag from pole position.

However, only polesitter Charles Leclerc in 2019 has crossed the line in the P1 position in the last five races.

2022

Pole - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Race winner - Max Verstappen (Red Bull, started P2)

2021

Pole - Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Race winner - Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, started P2)

2020

Pole - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Race winner - Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri, started P10)

2019

Pole - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Race winner - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2018

Pole - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

Race winner - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, started P3)

Lando Norris will start in ninth for today's race as McLaren have been celebrating their 60th anniversary in Formula 1. He told Sky Sports: "We have to pick the balance wisely, it's a long race with the two or three stints depending on what we choose with the strategy, but a lot of it is about management today, management of the tyres, choosing the balance wisely.

"We want to go forwards, we want to push forward, we want to try and overtake and get some positions but it's not going to be easy."

Image source, Getty Images