Formula 1 is trialling a new 'Sprint race' format at three Grands Prix this season, with Monza following in the footsteps of Silverstone two months ago.
Officially, this 30-minute race is called 'Sprint Qualifying', with the finishing order of the race determining the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.
RacingNews365.com presents everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's action.
How does the weekend change?
The biggest change to the Grand Prix weekend will be that the traditional qualifying session is moved to Friday evening.
As usual, the weekend kicks off with the first practice session. This will take place on Friday afternoon, and consists of the standard 60 minutes.
In the evening, a normal qualifying session will take place. This session will determine the starting grid for Saturday's Sprint Qualifying session at Monza.
On Saturday morning, the second practice session will be held, with the teams given another 60 minutes on track but, critically, without the ability to make any setup changes.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, the grid will line up for the Sprint Qualifying. This will take place over 100 kilometres, with drivers given free choice of tyres to start the race. There are no mandatory pit-stops, meaning drivers can push from start to finish if they feel like it.
The finishing order of the Sprint Qualifying determines the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix, which takes place as normal. The winner of Sprint Qualifying will get three points, second place will get two points, and third place will get a single point.
2021 F1 Italian GP time schedule
| Date | Event | Time (BST) | Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday September 10 | Practice 1 | 13:30 | 14:30 |
| Friday September 10 | Qualifying | 17:00 | 18:00 |
| Saturday September 11 | Practice 2 | 11:00 | 12:00 |
| Saturday September 11 | Sprint Qualifying | 17:00 | 18:00 |
| Sunday September 12 | Race | 14:00 | 15:00 |
What about tyres and parc ferme?
All cars will be put into parc ferme conditions ahead of Friday's qualifying session, meaning the teams can make no further changes after the first practice session at Monza.
This virtually negates the point of the second practice session on Saturday morning, as there can be no tweaking of setups ahead of the Sprint Qualifying.
As for tyres, drivers are only permitted to use two sets of tyres during Friday practice. They will then take part in the normal qualifying on Friday using five sets of Soft tyres.
Teams can use one set of tyres, a compound of their own choice, during Saturday morning practice, with the same rule in place for Sprint Qualifying.
There are two remaining sets of tyres for the Grand Prix, with teams having the choice of which compound to start on.
Tyre rules
| Session | Tyres |
|---|---|
| Friday (Practice 1) | Free choice (2 sets maximum) |
| Friday (Qualifying) | Soft tyres (5 sets) |
| Saturday (Practice 2) | Free choice (1 set) |
| Saturday (Sprint Qualifying) | Free choice (1 set) |
| Sunday (Grand Prix) | Free choice (2 sets) |
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F1 2021 Italian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier
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