Carols Sainz of Ferrari topped the charts after the first two practice sessions of the Italian GP with Championships leader Max Verstappen second and Charles Leclerc third.
A moment of silence was observed to pay respects to the Queen of England and a photograph of the Queen, whose parents attended Formula One’s first world championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950, appeared on a big screen over the podium. Teams also carried messages of respect on the cars for Britain’s longest reigning monarch, who died aged 96 on Thursday.
Leclerc lifted the mood by topping the first session with 1:22.410s at Monza which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
But it was Sainz who bettered his teammates’ time with a lap of 1:21.664 in the second Italian GP practice to top the charts with Red Bull’s runaway championship leader Max Verstappen finishing second 0.143s behind.
Sainz will start the race from the back of the grid while Verstappen also has a five-place penalty due to exceeding his engine allocation.
Leclerc was third with McLaren’s Lando Norris fourth (0.674s) with the Mercedes pair George Russell (+0.722s) and Lewis Hamilton (0.839s) slipping to fifth and seventh in the second stint, split by Sergio Perez in sixth.
Hamilton, a five times winner at Monza, will also start from the back due to a raft of engine-related penalties.
Esteban Ocon, Fernado Alonso and Alex Albon closed out the top 10.
