​MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 04: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W17 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 04, 2026 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) | Getty Images 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. Italian Grand Prix provisional gridHere is the provisional starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix, which will be filled in during the qualifying session:RowPositionDriverTeamPositionDriverTeamRow 112Row 234Row 356Row 478Row 5910Row 611Gabriel BortoletoAudi12Oliver BearmanHaasRow 713Nico HülkenbergAudi14Liam LawsonRed BullRow 815Carlos SainzWilliams16Esteban OconWilliamsRow 917Yuki TsunodaVCARB18Alexander AlbonWilliamsRow 1019Valtteri BottasCadillac20Sergio PerezCadillacRow 1121Fernando AlonsoAston Martin22Lance StrollAston MartinHow qualifying unfoldedHere is how the qualifying hour unfolded. All updates are in Eastern time.Q310:55: 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. Q210:42: 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 zone10:34: Norris jumps to P1, but then Piastri takes that spot. Gasly still up in