Italian GP: what time does it start? And is Ricciardo still injured?

A week on from the rain-fest that was the Dutch Grand Prix, F1 arrives in Italy in rude health with the outcome unpredictable and an enthralling title fight going down to the wire.

Kidding. Red Bull has won every single race so far in 2023 and Max Verstappen is on a personal run of nine wins in a row dating back to Miami in May. A tenth in Monza would set the all-time record, which would be astoundingly impressive… if a little dull for the neutral. Oh well.

Still, if you can’t take any pleasure from what the other 19 cars are doing then you probably shouldn’t be watching. And behind the unstoppable Red Bull ‘n’ Verstappen freight train, there’s lots to play for.

Ferrari will be hoping (okay, praying) for a decent result in front of its home fans, having yet again made several mistakes last time out in Zandvoort. It’s bringing a one-off livery to Monza to celebrate the 499P’s success at Le Mans, and presumably remind everyone what a winning Ferrari looks like…

Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso are on the up after an upgrade made them best-of-the-rest again in the Netherlands: have McLaren and Mercedes got anything up their sleeves to beat them to the podium?

And keep an eye out for Williams, especially Alex Albon: the Thai driver was impressive in Zandvoort on a track that doesn’t suit the car, so the long straights of Monza should provide a big haul of points for the team.

Plus, Liam Lawson will get a second outing for AlphaTauri after being summoned as a last-minute replacement for the injured Daniel Ricciardo last week: the Aussie has had surgery on his hand and it’s not yet clear when he’ll be back in the cockpit.

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What time is the Italian GP? And what time is qualifying?

For UK fans, the Italian Grand Prix starts at 2pm sharp (ish) on Sunday 3 September, exactly (ish) 23 hours after qualifying commences at 3pm on Saturday.

If you’re down for watching the practice sessions as well - because who doesn’t get a kick out of tyre degradation testing? - FP1 begins at 12:30pm on Friday 1 September, followed by FP2 at 4pm and FP3 at 11:30am a few hours before quali.

What’s the weather going to be like?

For the first time in what feels like forever, the forecast for the Italian GP looks to be dry. Some cloud cover, sure, but very little chance of rain at the time of writing. And highs of 28 degrees Celsius on race day.

Where is the Italian GP taking place?

At Monza, where else? The famous track has played host to the Italian GP every year since F1 became a thing in 1950, with the sole exception of 1980 when it moved to Imola because of track improvements.

If you’re a newbie you’ll hear many references this weekend to the Tifosi: these are the home fans, who will be exclusively (and very loudly) cheering for Ferrari. A pastime that usually ends in disappointment these days.

Five different drivers have won the last five editions of the Italian GP, a stat that promises more than will actually be delivered, we fear.

How many laps is the Italian GP?

The Italian GP is 53 laps long, but even though the track is more than three-and-a-half miles in length, this is usually one of the shortest races on the calendar: Monza is mostly long straights and fast corners, and with most of the lap spent at full throttle the field will take the chequered flag with a tremendously high average speed if there are no interruptions from the safety car.

In fact, downforce is such a non-issue here that all of the teams turn up with special, low-profile rear wings to make drag as low as possible.

Who’s going to win the Italian GP?

Sigh, every week with this question and every week the same answer: unless a mechanical issue, unfortunate accident, or comical hotel lift malfunction intervenes, Max Verstappen is going to cruise to victory in Monza. The Red Bull car is simply a class above the rest right now, and has proven itself at every time of track it’s been raced on so far.

The more pertinent question is: who will finish second at the Italian GP? And that’s much trickier to answer. Any combination of Aston Martin and Alonso, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for McLaren, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for Mercedes, or Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for Ferrari has a realistic shot of reaching the podium.

The other thing to note about Monza is that cars usually end up in a ‘DRS train’, where everyone follows in close formation to such an extent that the overtaking aid doesn’t actually aid overtaking. So if the order gets mixed up and a car with a decent top speed finds itself at the front of the field, there’s every chance it could stay there. It’s what happened when Pierre Gasly won here with AlphaTauri back in 2020.

How can I watch the Italian GP?

British viewers can either watch the race on Sky Sports’ dedicated F1 channel, or access Sky’s feed via a Now TV subscription. There are free-to-air highlights on Channel 4 (quali and race shows start at 7:50pm and 6:30pm on Saturday and Sunday respectively) but of course you won’t be watching the action live.

If aural coverage will do, then we’re afraid you’re going to be disappointed: neither BBC Radio 5 Live nor 5 Sports Extra is doing live commentary on the race this weekend. Football and cricket are too important, apparently.

What’s the TopGear view on the Italian GP?

The Italian Grand Prix is one of the most historic races on the calendar, and the high-speed nature of the track usually offers something different from the other races. Sadly because the cars aren’t as slipstreamy nowadays, that something is likely to be ‘a procession’. With little in the way of overtaking. The fact that one car is dominating the rest right now doesn’t help with the build-up, either.

Come on Italy, prove us wrong.