Italian Grand Prix: Who takes pole position?

Who will take pole position Saturday at the Temple of Speed?

If Friday's two practice sessions were any indication, several drivers will be in the mix ahead of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc topped the timing sheets in FP1, ahead of his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, while George Russell led the way in the second hour of practice ahead. Russell edged out Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli, the current Drivers' Championship leader.

But with Antonelli facing a ten-place grid penalty for a new power unit, he might be relegated to playing the team game on Saturday to give Russell a tow to pole.

We'll be tracking qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix live on Saturday morning, so check back early and often. And please head to the F1 Community on the brand-new SB Nation app, as we will be chatting in a game thread on the app all morning!

Qualifying gets underway at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

Update: PIERRE GASLY HAS TAKEN POLE POSITION AT MONZA.

Here is the provisional starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix, which will be filled in during the qualifying session:

Here is how the qualifying hour unfolded. All updates are in Eastern time.

11:04: PIERRE GASLY HAS TAKEN POLE POSITION FOR THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX.

11:01: Norris, Verstappen, and Russell have all struggled in the first sector so the door is open for … PIERRE GASLY.

10:55: Antonelli completes a lap and he gets to P6, ahead of Norris.

10:52: Initial laps are in. Russell ahead of Piastri, followed by Gasly, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Lindblad, Hamilton, Colapinto, and Antonelli, who did not set a time.

10:48: Antonelli heads out early, with Russell behind. McLaren follows as well. 13 minutes to set the top ten.

10:43: Antonelli, Piastri, Norris, Gasly, Russell, Verstappen, Lindblad, Colapinto, Leclerc, and Hamilton are the ten drivers moving on to Q3. Antonelli already has a grid drop due to a power unit change, and Piastri likely looking at one as well for impeding Lawson at the end of Q2.

10:42: Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Sainz, and Ocon are the six drivers eliminated. Leclerc and Hamilton advance … barely, with Leclerc in P9 and Hamilton in P10.

Lawson is out, so Verstappen will be on his own in Q3.

10:39: Piastri might be looking at a penalty here, as he holds up Lawson at the first chicane.

10:38: Under three minutes to go and Hamilton, Bearman, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Sainz, and Ocon are the six drivers in the drop zone

10:34: Norris jumps to P1, but then Piastri takes that spot. Gasly still up in P3 right now, ahead of both Russell and Antonelli.

10:30: "The car is broken on the rear axle again. It's really undriveable in turns 2, 4, 5" says Verstappen on the radio.

10:29: Sainz takes advantage of a tow from Verstappen (who is getting a tow from Lawson) and Sainz goes purple in the first sector.

10:28: Lawson, Verstappen, and Sainz are the three drivers on the track right now. Everyone else still in the pits

10:26: Q2 is underway, with 15 minutes on the clock.

10:24: Gasly, Verstappen, Norris, Colapinto, Lindblad, Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Bearman, Piastri, Bortoleto, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Ocon, and Sainz are the 16 drivers into Q2, in that order.

10:1 9: Tsunoda, Albon, Bottas, Perez, Alonso, and Stroll are the six drivers eliminated.

10:17: Alonso out of the car and he's down in P20, so his session is likely over.

10:16: Lawson goes purple in the third sector on a set of softs. His time is only good for P10, but that's a banger of a final sector.

10:14: Five minutes to go in Q1. Hulkenberg, Albon, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll, and Perez the six in the drop zone. Gasly remains in P1 ahead of Verstappen, Colapinto, Antonelli, and Russell rounding out the top five.

10:13: Bearman rockets up to P8, and the young Haas driver should be through. Ocon gets to P16, but he might be in trouble.

10:12: Turning to the battle at the back, Albon, Ocon, Alonso, Bottas, Perez, and Stroll are the six drivers in the drop zone. Hülkenberg on the bubble in P16.

10:11: Oh hello Alpine. Gasly goes P1 and Colapinto P3, sandwiching Verstappen in P2.

Flavio Briatore might be happier today than he was yesterday …

10:11: Initial times from the Merc duo: Antonelli into P2, Russell into P3.

10:09: Lawson slides into P7 on a set of mediums, which is interesting to note. Everyone else on the softs right now.

10:07: Norris picks up a slipstream from an Audi into Turn 11, and completes a lap to slot into P5.

10:06: Verstappen into P1 with a 1:22.631, Hamilton and Piastri slot into P2 and P3 behind him.

Norris has a moment at Turn 1 and will have to go again, as he drives through the chicane.

10:05: According to Alex Jacques, Norris is reporting that the brakes "aren't right" in his MCL40.

10:03: Lawson will be the first to set a time, and he's on a set of mediums while everyone else is on a set of softs. He's facing a grid drop so keep that in mind, as Red Bull has made a chance to his power unit.

10:02: Green light in Monza and we're underway, with Lawson the first driver to take to the track. But we've got Ferraris and McLarens on the circuit as well. No wasting time here.

9:58: Approaching the top of the hour, F1 Opening Titles are on my TV, and now I hear Alex Jacques. Gonna be a fun hour.

9:45: A lot of the early chatter on the F1 channel is focused on what teams are going to use a tow in qualifying. Will Antonelli give Russell a tow, since Antonelli is taking a penalty? Will Williams do that with Albon, who is also taking a penalty, to help Sainz at the end of Q1?

George Russell was fastest again in FP3, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Kimi Antonelli finished FP3 in fourth, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five.

Here is the full classification from FP3: