Monza's banking stands proudly as a tribute to the past © LAT

07:45 Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live as begin another weekend of action following the 2010 FIA Formula 1 world championship.

The sport arrives for the 14th round of the campaign on the back of Wednesday's World Motorsport Council decision not to further punish Ferrari for its one-two switch at July's German Grand Prix.

Ferrari now looks to put recent events behind it and concentrate on what should be a cracking weekend of action. The championship points race remains tight, with just six races left and five drivers with a shot to become world champion.

Low downforce, raw power and the fabled F-duct will dominate proceedings this weekend and the key is to make the best use of all three elements. Italy's Monza circuit in the royal park represents the only truly high-speed event of the year and should give fans around the globe great entertainment.

07:46 Today, we will guide you through the opening practice sessions with minute-by-minute commentary as the teams begin preparations for the grand prix.

First practice will begin shortly, with commentary ending 15 minutes after the session has concluded.

Later, at 11:45 GMT, we will return for live coverage of the second practice session.

AUTOSPORT Live will wrap up for the day with a detailed look at the forecast for the remainder of the weekend on the Italian Grand Prix Weather page.

Can Button bounce back from Vettel's assault at Spa? © LAT

07:47 Many expect McLaren to come out on top this weekend, with the race billed as one Lewis Hamilton has to win. The Briton retook the lead in the drivers' standings from Red Bull rival Mark Webber last time out at Spa and - on paper at least - both Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button should thrive here.

Ferrari has an equally strong package this weekend and will look to get among the McLarens with a big points total. Red Bull may struggle to live with the favourites on a circuit that doesn't play to the strengths of the RB6, so Webber may be forced into a damage limitation exercise as he battles to stay with the points leader. All of this is bad news for Sebastian Vettel. He simply has to score as many points as he can - provided he doesn't fall off the road or crash into another competitor ...

Force India had prodigious straight line speed at Spa and is likely to be strong, while a lot of fans will be very interested to see how Renault gets on in a direct comparison against Red Bull, after a great F-duct debut for the French squad a fortnight ago in Belgium.

With no F-duct and a slight horsepower disadvantage compared with the top teams, Monza presents an unenviable task for the three new outfits. The gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' will be more visible this weekend than at any other circuit.

World Championship standings, round 13:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Hamilton     182        1.  Red Bull-Renault          330
 2.  Webber       179        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          329
 3.  Vettel       151        3.  Ferrari                   250
 4.  Button       147        4.  Mercedes                  146
 5.  Alonso       141        5.  Renault                   123
 6.  Massa        109        6.  Force India-Mercedes       58
 7.  Kubica       104        7.  Williams-Cosworth          40
 8.  Rosberg      102        8.  Sauber-Ferrari             27
 9.  Sutil         45        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         10
10.  Schumacher    44       

07:49 The Lombardia region has dealt with a lot of rain over the past few days, but the weather cleared yesterday and that trend will continue throughout the next three days.

Conditions are perfect for racing with bright blue skies and just the odd wispy cloud around. Top temperatures will reach 24 degrees Celsius during the second practice session this afternoon, translating to a track temperature nudging very close to the 40 degree mark.

07:50 Keep up to speed with our minute-by-minute commentary on the move with the new AUTOSPORT app.

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Ferrari fans flock to Monza © LAT

07:51 Motor racing fans love to debate and discuss the action on track, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on events as they unfold at the circuit.

• Do you agree that this weekend will be a straight McLaren versus Ferrari battle?

• Who will hit the ground running first in free practice?

• Red Bull fans: What do you expect from this event?

Tell the world what you think.

Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you'd like to join the debate.

Bridgestone checks out the surface © LAT

07:53 Some news in brief as we approach the first practice session:

• Bridgestone has brought the soft and hard tyre compounds to Monza this weekend. Both should suit the high-speed nature of of circuit very well in warm temperatures.

• Force India has spent a lot of time optimising the blown diffuser at its Silverstone base since arriving back from Spa. The team also conducted a successful aero test. Paul di Resta will drive in practice today to help Sutil and Liuzzi.

• Three-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi joins the FIA strewards panel this weekend to help enforce the rules from a driver's perspective. The Brazilian last joined the panel at the Candian Grand Prix in June.

• A small yet important change to the circuit this year surrounds the chicanes. The areas behind the apex kerbs at the Retefilo and Roggia have been laid with a ramped concrete section to ensure that the chances of a car becoming airborne are minimised.

07:55 There are just five minutes remaining until Formula 1's festival of speed begins at Monza.

07:56 The track temperature is currently reading 16 Celsius in the morning sunshine at Monza.

07:58 A healthy crowd is already on hand in the main grandstand and down towards the first chicane as Paul di Resta gets ready for action.

07:59 Jaime Alguersuari puts on his gloves as he looks ahead to the start of the session.

0 min: The practice session is underway.

0 min: Sebastien Buemi exits the pits to get the 90 minutes up and running this morning.

1 min: Liuzzi and di Resta join the racetrack in the two Force India entries, as do Schumacher and Rosberg for Mercedes.

2 min: Buemi returns to the pits after a single installation lap as more drivers emerge - the latest of them being Alguersuari.

2 min: Petrov and Kubica are on track for an opening lap in the Renaults.

3 min: Liuzzi crosses the start-finish line and heads into a second installation tour.

3 min: Massa and Alonso join the circuit for an installation tour in the Ferraris.

3 min: The installation laps are well underway now as Hulkenberg and Barrichello join the throng.

4 min: Rosberg and Schumacher have continued over the line to complete a second lap of the Monza circuit.

4 min: Schumacher rounds the Parabolica and posts 1m31.396s in the Mercedes.

5 min: Button and Hamilton are now out of the McLaren garage to get things underway for the Woking-based team.

5 min: Schumacher goes into a third lap and almost stumbles across Alguersuari who had just completed a pitlane run-though.

5 min: Both drivers avoided contact and were able to continue on their way.

6 min: Schumacher completes a second timed lap and lowers the early benchmark to 1m29.061s.

7 min: Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are now on the circuit for Red Bull, as Schumacher continues to gather pace.

7 min: Hamilton continues on to a second tour, with his McLaren fitted with a considerable level of rear wing downforce.

8 min: Schumacher's third timed lap is 1m28.150s, featuring a more intensive attack of the Roggia chicane.

8 min: So far, Schumacher is the only driver to have posted a time on the board.

9 min: McLaren is clearly planning to see if it can find overall pace here by running a lot more rear downforce than normal here, with the drag reduced by the F-duct on the straights.

9 min: The Sauber drivers have stepped out of their machines and are chatting in the garage.

11 min: Schumacher is back into the pits after that short run of three timed laps, leaving the track empty for the time being.

12 min: Replays show a huge amount of flow-visibility paint on Vettel's Red Bull, as the team looks to analyse the passage of air over the rear of the car.

13 min: Liuzzi's Force India is in the garage and the mechanics are working heavily on the brakes, as Buemi and Rosberg come back out.

14 min: Robert Kubica is back on track in his Renault.

14 min: Buemi is straight back into the pits after a single lap as Rosberg continues over the line to start his fifth lap of the day.

15 min: A pitlane run-through for Buemi in the Toro Rosso, meaning both the team's drivers have now completed a pits time-loss test.

16 min: At Red Bull, the mechanics are now carefully wiping away the paint from the rear of the car, while Rosberg completes a pitlane test.

17 min: Buemi pitted and has just completed a pitlane run-through. Rosberg mirrors that strategy.

18 min: Button starts a flying lap in his McLaren.

19 min: Buemi guides the Toro Rosso into the pits ... and stays there this time.

19 min: Rosberg crossed the line to start his sixth lap of the day, but pitted the Mercedes without setting a time.

20 min: Schumacher's 1m28.150s is still the only timed lap on the board so far after 20 minutes. The German is back out again for a second run.

21 min: McLaren continues to run its off-throttle exhaust blow system to feed the diffuser, giving the car a distinctive drone in the corners.

21 min: Webber is back on track as Schumacher crosses the line in 1m26.805s.

22 min: Webber returns to the pits after a single tour in the Red Bull. Alguersuari is also out there.

22 min: Sebastian Vettel comes out as Alguersuari posts 1m30.034s to go second behind Schumacher.

24 min: Schumacher lowers the benchmark by a further 0.5s with 1m26.341s as we see Vettel touring round on an aero test. He pits.

24 min: Alguersuari improves his time in second place with 1m28.639s and Schumacher also improves - 1m26.038s.

24 min: Kubica completes a single tour as the morning starts in slow fashion with the teams collecting early data on the aerodynamic compromise here

25 min: Bruno Senna has yet to go out this morning. Earlier, we saw the HRT mechanics working hard at the back of the car.

26 min: Alguersuari improves again with 1m27.424s and Schumacher comes through with no improvement this time. The gap between them is 1.386s currently.

27 min: Alguersuari finds another four-tenths of a second with a lap of 1m26.932s. Still only two times on the board.

28 min: Schumacher is back into the pits. His second run was six laps with a best time of 1m26.038s.

28 min: Hamilton heads out of the pits with the high-downforce wing on the McLaren.

29 min: Alguersuari lowers his personal best by a further tenth of a second - 1m26.850s. The Spaniard continues on another lap and sets the fastest sector two time.

30 min: Alguersuari just falls short of the target time. He posts 1m26.197s and lies just 0.159s behind Schumacher.

30 min: Hamilton completes his first flying lap on hard tyres in a 1m25.816s.

31 min: Alguersuari moves up one spot to second with 1m25.897s. Schumacher is demoted to third following Hamilton's first effort.

31 min: McLaren will be eager to see how that time and the speed trap figures compare to the rest of the pack, given the high downforce on that car.

32 min: Nico Hulkenberg emerges from the Williams garage for his first run of laps.

33 min: Alguersuari loses five seconds in the first sector after missing the braking point for the first chicane. He continues straight on at slow speed without damage.

34 min: Hamilton lowers the bar to 1m24.990s after a close shave at the exit of the second Lesmo corner. He ran wide onto the artificial grass strip but continued.

35 min: Kobayashi is on track but he leaves his braking slightly late for the first chicane. He bumps over the raised kerb at Turn 2 but continues after grazing the floor of the Sauber heavily.

36 min: Hamilton is back into the pits after that short run of laps. He is quickest so far, with Alguersuari second, Schumacher third and Hulkenberg fourth.

37 min: Kobayashi is now fifth out of the five drivers to have set a time, but his 1m28.866s featured that bodged attempt at the first chicane.

37 min: Kobayashi remains fifth after a clean lap - 1m27.109s.

38 min: Hulkenberg jumps above Schumacher to third place with a lap of 1m26.020s as we see di Resta now on his first flyer of the day.

38 min: Buemi is the sixth driver to post a time on the board. He crosses the line in 1m27.779s.

39 min: Webber and Vettel are on track for Red Bull for their first serious run, as di Resta goes seventh out of seven with 1m29.755s.

40 min: Vettel's first timed lap is a 1m27.004s and places him sixth currently.

40 min: Alonso and Massa are on track to make a start on Ferrari's testing plans.

40 min: Webber slots in just behind his team-mate after a lap of 1m28.739s. Hamilton continues to lead the pack ahead of Alguersuari.

41 min: Here comes Vettel at the end of his second timed lap ... he goes second with 1m25.455s.

42 min: Nico Rosberg misses the optimum braking point for the Roggia chicane and neatly slaloms through the yellow and black speed humps. He continues without any damage.

43 min: Vettel improves and is now just 0.001s behind Hamilton with a lap of 1m24.991s. He is set to go quicker still on the following lap ...

43 min: Massa slots in 10th with team-mate Alonso 13th after the first flying laps for Ferrari.

43 min: Webber is up to third behind his team-mate as the pair look to overhaul Hamilton's early benchmark.

44 min: Rosberg reports on the team radio that he doesn't like the brakes currently fitted to his Mercedes. He is advised to pit if he is sufficiently unhappy.

44 min: Vettel goes quickest with 1m24.450s to take over from Hamilton.

45 min: Rubens Barrichello has stopped just after the exit of the second Lesmo and he climbs out of the Williams, his session over.

46 min: Replays suggest a sudden loss of drive as Barrichello was making his way through the Lesmo section. The marshals have removed the FW32 safely behind the barrier and we continue.

47 min: Button springs up to second quickest in his McLaren with a 1m24.494s while testing the team's high-downforce strategy.

48 min: Alonso moves up to fourth quickest with a 1m25.025s effort in his Ferrari.

48 min: Vettel is on a better lap and he comes round in 1m23.872s to extend the gap over Button to 0.622s. Hamilton is third with Alonso fourth.

49 min: Kubica takes sixth quickest for Renault in 1m25.300s.

49 min: Di Resta is up to fifth in the Force India, so far mixing it with the top teams after a lap of 1m25.291s.

49 min: Button improves his time to a 1m24.119s, closing to under a quarter of a second off Vettel's benchmark.

51 min: Rosberg chose to stay out and has completed 15 laps so far. At least for the moment, he is able to live with the brakes on the Mercedes.

51 min: Button clocks the fastest middle sector in his high-downforce McLaren, topping the order in 1m23.756s.

52 min: Rosberg now moves up six places to third with a lap of 1m24.782s, almost exactly one second down on Button's time.

52 min: Kubica is also running a fairly sizable rear wing on his Renault as he evaluates the F-duct and moves up to third.

52 min: Button now takes the fastest times through the other sectors of the lap as he further improves the time to beat, now a 1m23.693s.

53 min: Rosberg brings the Mercedes in after that lengthy run of laps. The order is Button, from Vettel, Kubica, Rosberg and Hamilton.

53 min: Hamilton is also back out to gather data for McLaren's evaluation of its options with the F-duct and rear wing.

54 min: Bruno Senna is finally out on the circuit in the HRT after a troubled start to the day with a brake problem.

54 min: Michael Schumacher is back out for his third run of the morning. He has slipped to 14th in the classification.

55 min: Senna brings the HRT into the pits after a single installation lap.

56 min: Both Lotus cars remain in the garage with the mechanics working around the pair of T127 machines.

56 min: Schumacher tests the braking limits of the Mercedes at the first chicane and takes to the speed humps. He finds a clever exit route and continues.

56 min: Neither Lotus driver has been out since the early installation laps.

59 min: Michael Schumacher improves to eighth position with a lap of 1m25.200s, having seemingly found a better braking reference for Turn 1.

59 min: Kobayashi finally makes it out of the run-off at the first chicane after a troubled time navigating the marker boards for the Sauber man.

61 min: Paul di Resta is on for a slight improvement in lap time as he comes towards the end of his latest lap ... he moves up to eighth with 1m25.058s.

62 min: Bruno Senna comes out to begin his first run of laps after the installation process. HRT team-mate Yamamoto has posted a best time of 1m30.698s so far.

62 min: Di Resta improves again in the Force India and is up another spot to seventh with a lap of 1m24.932s.

64 min: Trulli is readying himself for action, but his Lotus team are still finishing off repairs to hydraulic issues with both cars.

65 min: Schumacher crosses the line with no improvement to his current ninth place time, having managed the fastest first sector of all so far.

66 min: Kovalainen is now on track in his Lotus and finally gets his first timed lap underway.

66 min: Schumacher pits to bring his third run of the morning to an end. He stays in ninth spot - one-and-a-half seconds down on Button's benchmark.

68 min: Trulli is also finally underway in his Lotus after a difficult start to the day.

68 min: Bruno Senna posts 1m29.930s and lies 22nd, just one tenth shy of team-mate Yamamoto after six laps.

70 min: Jaime Alguersuari makes a mistake at the Parabolica and takes to the gravel. He rejoins towards the exit of the corner and immediately pits the Toro Rosso.

70 min: Trulli takes 20th with his first effort, while Kovalainen has only beaten Yamamoto so far for 23rd.

71 min: Alguersuari indulged in a heavy application of the brake pedal at the turn-in phase to the right-hander. He sustained no damage in the incident.

71 min: Bruno Senna pulls off to the side of the track just after the exit of the first chicane. The marshals quickly come to his aid.

72 min: Senna pulled off to the inside of the circuit and is now being pushed towards the nearest marshals post.

72 min: The HRT is now guided to a safe place behind the barrier on the inside of the circuit and the Brazilian climbs out.

75 min: The Ferrari pair continue on a series of long runs on the harder tyre. Alonso is sixth fastest, with Massa seventh.

76 min: Button continues to lead the way with a quickest lap of 1m23.693s, with Vettel second, Hamilton third, Kubica fourth and Webber fifth.

76 min: Rosberg may change that order as he crosses the line ... and moves into fifth with 1m24.129s. He had set the fastest first sector time on that lap.

78 min: Rosberg brings that run to an end and pits. His team-mate Schumacher is on track and just outside the top ten.

79 min: Hulkenberg comes out to begin his last run of the morning session. He is ninth in the classification with a best time of 1m24.841s so far.

81 min: Hulkenberg is straight back into the pits ... and completes a pitlane time loss test. He rejoins the circuit. Vettel is also on track now.

82 min: Schumacher moves inside the top ten with a lap of 1m24.756s. He backs that up with the fastest sector time of all in the first part of the circuit.

84 min: Tonio Liuzzi misses his brakes at the first chicane and runs straight on through the access road, while Schumacher pits rather than complete that initially quick lap.

85 min: Lucas di Grassi finds a wonderfully entertaining way to exit the first chicane. He finds the right route after a great loop-the-loop.

86 min: Di Grassi lost traction at the rear of the Virgin, spun onto the grass and then rounded an advertising board before rejoining the track.

88 min: Vettel is out with the rest of the top eight for a final run. He crosses the line with a lap two-tenths down on Button - no improvement.

89 min: Liuzzi is on a strong lap towards the end of the session and moves up to eighth with 1m24.578s.

90 min: The chequered flag is out to bring first practice at Monza to a close.

09:30 Liuzzi is on another good lap. He posts 1m24.512s to improve another spot to seventh.

09:31 Rosberg's final run produced a slight error at the first chicane. He headed for the access road and clipped one of the polystyrene marker boards as he rejoined.

09:32 Rosberg's Mercedes appeared to sustain minor front wing damage at worst. He ends the morning after 30 laps.

09:33 Jenson Button is quickest at Monza after a bright and sunny first practice session, with a best time of 1m23.693s, with Vettel second.

09:34 Hamilton was third, cementing McLaren's tag of pre-race favourites, ahead of Kubica fourth, Rosberg fifth and Webber sixth.

09:35 Liuzzi finished a strong seventh in the Force India, with the Ferrari pair of Alonso and Massa eighth and ninth. Schumacher rounds out the top ten.

09:37 Here's our report on the first session:

Button tops first practice at Monza

09:42 So McLaren has started well with its high-downforce configuration, with both Red Bulls also up there. You would have to feel that Ferrari hasn't shown any real pace yet - typically on Friday the Scuderia feature towards the back of the top ten.

Sebastien Buemi was fastest through the speed trap at 345 km/h, as Toro Rosso works on the debut of its F-duct, in a bid to stay with Sauber in the midfield.

Lotus and Virgin didn't fare too badly in the first session, but there is a lot of track time yet to come and the gap may increase to the established teams once the true pace reveals itself.

Will the McLarens rule again this afternoon in the second session? Join us again at 11:45 GMT for more from Monza.