F1 LIVE | Follow here for Italian Grand Prix qualifying from Monza!

George Russell is the favourite for pole position after topping the timesheets in FP2 and FP3. Ferrari are hoping to mount a challenge for pole position, but championship leader Kimi Antonelli is set to start from the back regardless of where he qualifies as he faces a grid penalty.

Antonelli leads the standings by 59 points over both his teammate Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who will both be hoping to claw away a big chunk of the Italian's lead this weekend.

The stewards at Monza have reached a verdict over the near-contact between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, which provided a dramatic end to FP3 at the Italian Grand Prix.

The tension between Hamilton and Verstappen began on the exit of the Parabolica, where the two found themselves side by side before launching into a flat-out drag race along Monza’s main straight.

Neither was prepared to back out as they remained wheel-to-wheel all the way towards the first chicane, turning the closing stages of FP3 into a dramatic showdown. The situation reached its peak under braking for Turn 1, as Verstappen committed his RB22 to the inside and the pair came close to making contact. Hamilton was forced to move to the left and cut across the chicane to avoid the Red Bull.

Verstappen then voiced his frustration over team radio, saying “He caused that,” after having already directed an ironic thumbs-up towards the Ferrari driver during their battle down the straight.

The incident was noted immediately after it occurred, but after reviewing it, Race Control determined that no further investigation was necessary.

Mercedes HPP plans to add performance to its already strong power units soon, GPblog understands. The Germans will do so with a new turbocharger at the very least, but more upgraded components are likely to follow. This could result in (new) grid penalties for drivers running Mercedes engines.

nder the ADUO framework, Mercedes is permitted to implement performance updates to the engines. This website understands the team indeed intends to do so, especially now that Ferrari has taken a step forward with its power units. In that case, the Mercedes drivers and all customer teams will have access to the new components.

It is still unclear which components Mercedes HPP will replace. In any case, it involves a new turbocharger. If it remains limited to that component, championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli will not have to serve a new grid penalty.