Formula 1 heads to Monza: Full Italian GP weekend schedule

After winning the last two races in succession, there will be plenty of attention on Lando Norris to see whether he can complete a hat-trick in Italy and firmly reignite his championship challenge. The McLaren driver arrives at Monza carrying significant momentum, with another victory potentially allowing him to make further inroads in the standings.

There will also be huge interest surrounding home favourite and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who will race in front of the Italian crowd at Monza with the added pressure of leading the title fight. His weekend, however, will be complicated by the grid penalty hanging over him, meaning the Mercedes driver will have an additional obstacle to overcome as he looks to deliver a strong result on home soil.

Toto Wolff explained that Mercedes' decision to make the engine change in Italy was driven entirely by performance considerations, with the team's simulations identifying Monza as the most favourable circuit at which to absorb the resulting grid penalty.

The Austrian stressed that Antonelli's nationality and the significance of his home race did not factor into the calculations, with Mercedes prioritising its championship objectives over the potential public-relations benefits of giving the Italian the best possible starting position at Monza.

The Italian Grand Prix weekend will follow the traditional format, with three practice sessions before qualifying and the race. Track action begins on Friday, 4 September with FP1 at 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST), giving the teams their first opportunity to fine-tune their low-downforce packages around Monza. FP2 follows later in the afternoon at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST), before the final hour of practice gets underway on Saturday at 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST).

The first competitive session of the weekend will then take place on Saturday afternoon, with qualifying scheduled for 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) and the battle for pole position set to unfold around one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. Attention will then turn to Sunday, when the Italian Grand Prix gets underway at 15:00 CEST (14:00 BST), with another crucial haul of championship points on offer as the title fight enters the second half of the season.