2024 Italian Grand Prix preview: timings, how to watch, and more

Hot topics ahead of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

However unlikely it may be, talk of a title challenge refuses to die. While Norris’ win in the Netherlands may not have substantially closed the points gap between him and Verstappen, the nature of the victory – over 22-seconds ahead of the three-time world champion, was certainly a statement. It remains unlikely that Verstappen’s championship lead will be overhauled, but with the Dutchman not winning a race since Spain five races ago the pressure is steadily piling on.

The Red Bull suffered from a lack of pace to fight back against the McLaren, their slump in form coinciding with the Woking team entering a purple patch. The constructors’ championship has narrowed to just 30 points with nine races remaining, so now more than ever the defending champions will be relying on strong performances from Sergio Pérez to retain their team title.

Ahead of a return to Italy, Ferrari’s Dutch Grand Prix has given the Tifosi reason to be optimistic, at least for a podium. The upgrades it brought to Zandvoort delivered a fine third for Leclerc and saw Carlos Sainz Jr. climb from 11^th to fifth, ahead of Pérez. For Mercedes however, the latest upgrades had the opposite outcome, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing seventh and eighth respectively. The short turnaround between Zandvoort and Monza will prove whether the upgrades for both Ferrari and Mercedes were indeed a step forward or backwards.

Although Williams has secured the services of Carlos Sainz for 2025, it has decided to change its present driver line-up, pulling the plug on Logan Sargeant’s F1 career before the conclusion of the current season. Sargeant, who scored just a single point over the course of 37 races, has been replaced by Formula 2 driver Franco Colapinto for the remaining nine grands prix of 2024, so Monza will provide the first opportunity for him to rise to the challenge of competing in F1.

When can I watch the 2024 Italian Grand Prix?

Action at Monza begins on Friday, with Free Practice 1 at 12:30 UK time (13:30 local time), followed by Free Practice 2 at 16:00 (17:00). Saturday starts off with Free Practice 3 at 11:30 (12:30) ahead of qualifying for the grand prix at 15:00 (16:00). Lights out for the Italian Grand Prix is at 14:00 (15:00) on Sunday 1^st September.

How to watch the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

Sky Sports retains exclusive rights to all live coverage of F1 in the UK. Every session of the Italian Grand Prix will be shown live and uninterrupted on Sky Sports F1.

US viewers can catch all the action on ESPN, and Australian audiences can watch on Kayo Sports. The F1 TV Pro app will also provide coverage of every F1 session across the weekend to several countries the world over.

Which series are supporting in Monza?

Formula 2 and Formula 3 return to action this weekend for the first time since the end of July. In Spa, it was Zak O’Sullivan who won the F2 sprint race, while Isack Hadjar took victory in the feature race to retain a 36-point lead at the top of the standings over Gabriel Bortoleto.

Monza marks the final race of the F3 season with the top three separated by only six points. Leonardo Fornaroli has leapfrogged rivals Gabriele Minì and Luke Browning after a third-place finish in the feature race, though Minì did finish second in the sprint race. The sprint and feature races were won by Dino Beganovic and Callum Voisin respectively.

F1 Academy meanwhile, will return to action in Singapore at the end of September, with Abbi Pulling holding a dominant 71-point lead atop of the standings.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.