Italian Grand Prix: who’s gonna win, Lando or Max?

Set the scene for me.

F1 returns to Monza this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix, a race that has featured on the calendar every year since the formation of the sport. So it’s almost literally dripping with history. Box box for full wets.

Ahem. The championship battle is finely poised… as in, we’re not sure if there’ll be one yet. But at Zandvoort last weekend Lando Norris crushed the rest of the field and showed that - on recent form, anyway - Red Bull doesn’t have the fastest car any more. Imagine typing that just a couple of months ago.

Lando is still 70 points behind the three-time champ and there are only nine races left, but a couple of wins here… a DNF there… and we might actually have a title showdown on our hands. The neutrals deserve that after last year, right?

Elsewhere it’s one of the backmarkers making the biggest headlines: after a crash in FP3 last week Williams finally ran out of patience with Logan Sargeant, dropping him with immediate effect and giving his seat to Franco Colapinto to keep warm until Carlos Sainz arrives in 2025.

Franco who? He’s an Argentine driver who had been racing in F2 this year until he got the call to step up to the big time earlier this week. He has… one feature race win and a single F1 practice session to his name. ‘Hey no pressure kid, just go out and do the best you can. And score points. And don’t wreck our expensive upgrades.’ James Vowles doesn’t ask for much, huh?

Finally, the Italian GP is of course Ferrari’s home race, so the stands will be a sea of red all weekend long. It’s five long years since Charles Leclerc last won here, but if his unexpected P3 in the Netherlands is anything to go by, a surprise result isn’t out of the question…

What time does the Italian Grand Prix start?

The Italian GP gets underway at 2pm UK time on Sunday 1 September. Yep… it’s almost September already. Where’d the year go? Anyway, qualifying starts at 3pm on Saturday 31 August, and if you’re into your practice sessions there are three of ‘em: FP1’s at 12.30pm on Friday, FP2 follows it at 4pm, and FP3 is an 11.30am job on the morning of qualifying.

Is it going to rain?

The current forecast suggests it’s going to be hot all weekend, with some cloud cover at best. So no, the wets and intermediates should stay firmly in their blankets for this one.

Gimme some history in 100 words or fewer.

You want us to cram the history of the Italian Grand Prix into 100 words? Mamma mia. Well, it actually predates F1 having first been run in the town of Montichiari in 1921. Then it moved to Monza and boom, three decades later F1 was invented. Back then the circuit was most famous for its banked section, but even in the early 60s this was considered a tad risky, and the layout moved on. The banking still stands though. What? We’re almost out of words? Dammit, um… Ferrari… temple of speed… fastest F1 lap ever… never mind. Google the rest.

The top three will be…

This used to be a piece of cake: Verstappen P1, then much later, two other people. Predictions aren’t so easy these days. Monza is all about speed - a ridiculously high percentage of the lap is spent at full throttle and but for two chicanes, all the corners are high speed - which is why the teams all bolt on their lowest profile wings for minimum drag.

The most recent race with similar characteristics was Austria. McLaren were pretty handy there, so let's go for a repeat of the team’s 1-2 here three years ago, followed by one of the Mercs in P3. Topped the speed traps at the Dutch GP, didn’t they? Well, except for Perez. And few people expect to see him on the podium again on current form…

Shock of the weekend?

Sergio Perez will punish us for saying that and romp to victory having notched pole by six tenths.

Where can I watch the Italian Grand Prix?

In the UK, the Italian Grand Prix will be live on Sky Sports’ F1 channel, or alternatively you can sign up for Now TV and stream the race on the interwebs. Channel 4 of course has a highlights show, but that won’t run the best bits from the race until 11.30pm on Sunday, while qualifying highlights will be shown at the same time on Saturday. F1’s YouTube highlights usually drop within a couple of hours of the race, but it’s only ever eight minutes long so… take your pick.

No commentary on the airwaves again this week, although you can stream Radio 5 Sports Extra’s coverage via the BBC Sport website and app. Fine if you’re at home, not so good if you’re stuck in a traffic jam with no signal.