STRATEGY GUIDE: What are the tactical options for the Italian Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen has a memorable pole position, but he had to do the fastest lap in 75 years of F1 history to take it. Behind him are the McLarens, and given their run of five straight victories, putting neither car on pole looks a little lacklustre – but the MCL39 thrives when it’s presented with a sequence of medium-speed corners to attack, and Monza forgot to order any of those.

Behind the McLarens, Ferrari have looked spritely on home turf, and Charles Leclerc could very easily have been top of the pile, while Lewis Hamilton has some ground to make up after his Zandvoort penalty pushes him down to P10.

Post-session, Verstappen didn’t sound hugely confident of maintaining his lead, given the race pace of his rivals in Friday’s long runs – but he does have strategic cards to play, with a different tyre allocation to them – and everybody else on the grid – that could be crucial should chaos descend. All to play for then, at the Temple of Speed…