Silence at Monza as F1 pauses to reflect on death of Elizabeth II
The Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza with Max Verstappen surging towards a second World Championship after winning a fourth straight race in Zandvoort.
The Red Bull driver has a 109-point lead at the top of the Drivers Standings with seven races to go after overtaking Lewis Hamilton late on to win his home Grand Prix, with George Russell coming second and Charles Leclerc completing the podium in third. Hamilton, who led for much of the race, did not benefit from two safety car periods and ultimately finished fourth while Carlos Sainz was demoted from fifth to eighth after the Ferrari man was handed a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, with Sergio Perez instead finishing fifth.
This weekend, F1 finshes the European swing at Autodromo Nazionale Monza – which is celebrating its 100th anniversary – for the Italian Grand Prix; a race memorable in 2021 for Daniel Ricciardo leading a McLaren one-two and Verstappen and Hamilton crashing at turn one. The Ferrari pairing of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were quickest in practice on Friday, with Verstappen taking a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race and Hamilton and Sainz starting at the back of the grid.
Third practice starts at midday (BST) with qualifying at 3pm at Monza.