11:55 Hello everyone and welcome back to AUTOSPORT Live as we continue with coverage and updates from round 13 of this year's FIA Formula 1 world championship - the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Mercedes has fallen back in the pecking order since Nico Rosberg's fine win in China - more than four months ago - but Michael Schumacher topped the practice timesheet for the three-pointed star this morning with a lap of 1m25.422s, just over three-tenths of a second clear of Spa race winner Jenson Button.

Rosberg himself was third, edging out championship leader Fernando Alonso, who ground to a halt at the first chicane late in the 90-minute session with a suspected engine problem. Massa was fifth in the second Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest, 0.522s off Schumacher's leading time.

Schumacher leads first Monza practice

After a bite to eat and a post-session debrief, the teams are ready to go again. Both types of Pirelli tyre will be in use along with further set-up changes, as drivers work out the best solution for Sunday's race.

11:56 Conditions remain fine and bright as we head into the second part of today's action. A light breeze is in evidence, while air temperature is up to around 27 degrees.

This will translate into a maximum track temperature of around 41 Celsius during the course of the next 90 minutes - far higher than anything recorded at Spa last weekend.

11:57 Track temperature is up to 40 degrees Celsius with a couple of minutes to go until the session commences.

11:58 Plenty of drivers getting ready for action in the early stages.

11:59 Among them are Bruno Senna, Narain Karthikeyan and Paul di Resta, who will get their first run after sitting out morning practice.

0 min: Practice two is underway at Monza.

0 min: Perez is the first man out of the pits this afternoon.

1 min: Petrov is told that a five-lap run is planned by Caterham, with Marussia working on a similar early outing.

1 min: Karthikeyan is one of the early runners this afternoon. Senna and Maldonado also head out.

1 min: Raikkonen, d'Ambrosio, Kobayashi and more head out to get the afternoon underway.

1 min: Di Resta is next onto the circuit for Force India, while Vettel sits and waits in his car. He is at least a couple of minutes away from going out.

2 min: Vergne and Ricciardo join the racetrack to gather some early data for Toro Rosso, followed by Hulkenberg.

3 min: Perez clocks a first time of 1m27.713s as the early laps continue.

3 min: Karthikeyan posts his first effort on the board - 1m32.371s.

3 min: Raikkonen is next to top the developing order in 1m26.093s.

4 min: Senna registers 1m32.483s with his first attempt to go seventh out of seven so far.

4 min: Hamilton, Massa and Alonso remain in the garage for the moment, with the engine change still being completed on the latter's Ferrari.

4 min: Maldonado fares better in the other Williams. He is straight into second spot with a time of 1m27.532s.

5 min: Di Resta slots into fourth spot with a time of 1m27.785s after his first timed lap.

5 min: D'Ambrosio makes a strong start to his second practice as he goes third fastest in his Lotus.

6 min: Di Resta continues on for a second timed lap and moves up into second behind Raikkonen's Lotus with 1m26.801s.

6 min: Perez takes the very wide line exiting Ascari, clipping the gravel before continuing on his way.

6 min: Webber's first effort places him seventh with a time of 1m27.359s.

7 min: Raikkonen improves the early benchmark to a 1m25.934s.

7 min: Vettel leaps up the order in second place with 1m26.647s in the RB8 as the first run continues.

8 min: Button springs up to second fastest, with Perez now third in the times.

8 min: Ricciardo crosses the line with another improvement and he goes eighth with 1m27.014s.

8 min: Hulkenberg improves again and maintains fourth with a time of 1m26.611s, demoting Vettel to fifth.

9 min: Di Resta fills the gap between Hulkenberg and Vettel to take fifth himself with a time of 1m26.640s.

9 min: Schumacher is now on his first timed lap of the afternoon.

9 min: Hamilton is now on track and the fastest man through the first part of the lap.

10 min: De la Rosa is yet to leave the pits - clearly not part of the plan at HRT.

10 min: It is a slow and sedate first lap for Schumacher. He clocks 1m30.827s.

10 min: Hamilton backs off as he finds traffic down the final straight while Button takes over the fastest first sector time.

11 min: Button improves to 1m26.164s, just over two tenths off Raikkonen's leading time.

11 min: Replays of Karthikeyan using his HRT as an off-road vehicle through the gravel exiting the second Lesmo. He rejoins.

12 min: Rosberg jumps up to second place, behind Raikkonen, with a time of 1m26.061s.

12 min: Hamilton completes a flying lap now, clocking 1m26.048s to go second fastest.

12 min: Vettel is back into the pits after a first run of five laps. Maldonado completed seven laps on his first run.

12 min: Massa comes round in fourth fastest as Alonso gets going with another practice motor in his Ferrari.

13 min: Rosberg improves on his next lap and cuts the gap down to 0.038s, but he remains in second with a time of 1m25.972s.

14 min: Button's progressing run continues with a new benchmark time of 1m25.832s on the hard compound rubber.

14 min: Schumacher is making progress up the classification. He is now sixth with a best time of 1m26.259s.

14 min: Schumacher is advised on the team radio that he may have a DRS failure.

15 min: Rosberg goes round again and tops the list with 1m25.446s.

15 min: Massa clocks 1m25.611s to go second fastest as team-mate Alonso starts his run with the third quickest time.

16 min: The order is now Rosberg at the front for Mercedes, ahead of Massa, Alonso, Button and Hamilton in fifth, followed by Raikkonen.

17 min: Schumacher returns to the pits after a six lap run and the team can update him more thoroughly on the DRS issue.

17 min: The Ferrari pair continue to circulate on hard tyres while many drivers are in the pits to look at the data collected on the first run.

18 min: De la Rosa did get out onto the circuit. He is now four laps into his first run with a best time of 1m29.830s, 0.240s clear of team-mate Karthikeyan.

18 min: Massa tops the middle sector to improve his best to 1m25.545s. He's second fastest, with Alonso third.

19 min: Rosberg elects to remain in the cockpit while the mechanics make set-up changes. He continues to head the list with 1m25.446s.

20 min: Raikkonen heads back out for another hard tyre run in the Lotus.

21 min: Alonso rounds the Parabolica and tops the order with a new best of 1m25.350s.

22 min: Maldonado comes out to begin his second run. As he does so, he is advised over the radio that the team currently has no GPS information to help get him a clear track.

23 min: Kovalainen is the first man to head out on a set of the medium compound rubber.

23 min: Vergne is already on the circuit and into a flying lap on his second run. He is 17th so far with a best of 1m27.307s.

23 min: Vettel is back out there to begin his second run. He is down in 11th for now - the same position he ended the first session.

24 min: Webber's RB8 is lowered to the floor and he joins the racetrack to begin his second run, as Vettel starts a timed lap.

26 min: Schumacher and Rosberg are back out for their second run.

26 min: AUTOSPORT office types observing that speed of the Mercedes is quite impressive so far today. Schumacher still seventh fastest in spite of missing DRS capability.

27 min: Maldonado improves slightly with a time of 1m26.623s. He is 11th.

28 min: Petrov matches his team-mate by making the switch to softer tyres.

28 min: Both McLarens back underway for a second run on the harder tyres.

28 min: The first day and a half of Monza has been all about Lewis Hamilton and where he will be driving next year. Not a lot of information and an awful lot of speculation...

Here's McLaren's current position.

29 min: Kovalainen is still in his traditional 19th place as he gets some laps in on the medium rubber.

30 min: Schumacher in replay running wide at the Roggia chicane. He continues on his second run.

30 min: Raikkonen escapes the gravel at Ascari after running a little bit too wide on the exit of the fast third chicane.

31 min: Rosberg is also told their is an issue with his DRS not closing as quickly as it should. The team suffered problems with the rear wing effectiveness this morning.

31 min: Nevertheless, Rosberg remains second quickest so far, with many drivers now well into a long run.

33 min: A lot of the updates that Marussia brought to the car will have been carried over to this weekend. In low downforce trim the cars are 0.8s off the Caterhams. Worth remembering of course that Timo Glock and Charles Pic don't have KERS this year, which has got to hurt around here. Team AUTOSPORT shared a hotel (well, 'ish) with the team's top brass last weekend and their optimism going forward was quite contagious.

33 min: Rosberg crosses the line to complete a lap and then runs out of road at the first chicane again. Similar to this morning, he clips the same marker on his way through the slalom course, before rejoining.

33 min: Kovalainen has now found some speed from the softer tyres to go 16th, with Petrov also setting improved times on the medium compound.

36 min: Schumacher came into the pits soon after his incident at the Roggia chicane - five laps for the German. He is still eighth in the standings.

37 min: Alonso is now warming up to a run on the medium compound tyres.

37 min: Webber completed seven laps on his second run, while Red Bull team-mate Vettel managed six laps. Both remain outside the top 10.

38 min: Schumacher has apparently suggested to Charllie Whiting that having a DRS failure at Roggia could be seriosly bad for your back health if you hit the sleeping policeman...

38 min: Eight laps for Rosberg on his second run. Alonso heads the list with Rosberg second, Massa third, Button fourth and Hamilton in fifth spot.

38 min: Alonso clocks a 1m25.506s with his first lap on the softer tyres, slightly slower than his earlier best on the hard compound.

39 min: Good news coming out of Italy today is that Robert Kubica is on the verge of a competition return.

Robert Kubica set to make rallying return in Italy

40 min: Vettel heads back out on medium compound tyres after a short stay in the pits. He has slipped to 12th in the classification.

40 min: Perez has switched to the softer tyres on his Sauber and is currently ninth fastest.

40 min: Maldonado is also out there on Pirelli's medium tyre. He is looking to improve on 1m26.623s.

41 min: Alonso is noted by race control missing the first chicane as he continues to evaluate the soft tyres. Replays show he escaped via the grass.

42 min: Alonso reports "something broken" suggesting he may have a brake problem after struggling to slow the Ferrari for the first chicane.

42 min: Schumacher heads out to begin his third run. Clearly, the German is willing to give his back some more punishment.

42 min: Raikkonen is up to fourth fastest as he tries the softer tyres on the Lotus.

43 min: No improvement for Vettel on his first timed lap on the medium tyre. He remains in 12th position.

43 min: Alonso's Ferrari is back in the garage with the team looking closely at the front left hub.

43 min: Massa clocks the fastest final sector on medium compound, going second fastest in 1m25.430s.

44 min: Vettel crosses the line at the completion of his second timed lap on the medium tyre and improves to 10th with 1m26.394s.

44 min: Perez finds a little more speed on the softer rubber, going eighth fastest.

45 min: A huddle of Ferrari mechanics now surround Alonso's car with the team attending to the the Spaniard's brake problem.

45 min: Vettel is back into the pits after two timed laps on the medium tyre. Four tours in total on that run.

46 min: Button is next to attempt a run on the medium compound.

48 min: Button improves to a 1m25.485s to go fourth fastest but that isn't a major leap forwards from the move to option rubber.

48 min: Replays of Karthikeyan, who has given up using his HRT as a 4x4 and is now trying his hand at stunt jumps instead. He bounces over the kerbs at the first chicane and continues.

50 min: Rosberg was not able to improve on medium tyres. At the end of his timed lap, he locked up heavily into the first chicane and continued back to the pits. He remains third in the classification.

50 min: Button continues to seek the best from the medium rubber, topping the times in 1m25.328s on his third flying lap of the run.

51 min: Medium tyres for Webber and he crosses the line in 1m26.473s but that only places him 13th on the timesheet.

52 min: Engineers will be taking close interest in these times, with the softer tyre seeming to be providing reasonable pace after a cool-down lap.

53 min: Hamilton is now on a run with the medium compound, but his first flying attempt ends with a slow final sector.

53 min: Di Resta moves handily up the order to sixth place with a time of 1m25.612s in the Force India.

54 min: Hamilton tops the middle sector and looks to be on course for a quick lap on his second flyer with the option rubber.

54 min: Webber moves up marginally to 10th with a time of 1m26.104s. That is three timed laps into his third run.

54 min: A 1m25.290s puts Hamilton's McLaren on top of the times.

55 min: Hulkenberg moves up to eighth spot - just shy of team-mate di Resta - with a lap of 1m25.662s.

56 min: Webber is back into the pits after five laps in total on the medium tyre. That was his third run of the afternoon.

57 min: Alonso and Massa, currently third and fourth behind the McLaren pair, head out for a second outing on the medium compound.

59 min: Rosberg leaves the pits to begin his fourth run of the afternoon. He is now fifth in the standings, behind Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Massa.

59 min: Alonso finds a fraction in the final sector to improve his third-place time, with that earlier brake problem now clearly resolved.

61 min: Schumacher and Vettel are back on track to continue race preparation work, with just under 30 minutes of the session remaining.

61 min: Little improvement in pace now as the best of the tyres have been used up and teams begin to complete long runs.

62 min: Problems again for Alonso as he bails out to the run-off at the second chicane and is now touring around in second gear.

64 min: Alonso tours in to the pits and the Ferrari team again go to work on the troublesome machine.

66 min: Improvements are almost non-existent now as the teams work through long run pace, while grappling with the different pattern of behaviour of the option compound tyre this weekend.

67 min: Laptimes are way off the earlier pace now, with drivers also not using the DRS around the circuit to simulate race conditions.

67 min: Mark Webber heads back out to begin his fourth run, with 22 minutes of the session remaining.

68 min: Alonso has stepped out of the Ferrari and it again looks like a major problem with the championship leader's car.

69 min: Schumacher is told over the team radio that his lap times look good. The German is seven laps into his fourth run of the afternoon.

70 min: D'Ambrosio, with limited mileage in 2012 machinery, is encouraged to use the DRS by his Lotus team.

72 min: Hamilton remains on top of the times from team-mate Button, with the pair both out on track for long runs.

73 min: HRT reports a small issue affecting Karthikeyan's machine and he will take no further part in the session. The Indian has completed 21 laps.

73 min: While work continues on Alonso's car, team-mate Massa has lost the vent from the top of his helmet after it detached at speed on track.

74 min: Massa has continued, being the sole remaining Ferrari - needing to collect some long run data for the team.

75 min: Kobayashi is making a late move to the softer tyres after an earlier delay in the Sauber garage. He's down in 16th for the moment.

76 min: Button reports big vibrations from his soft tyres after locking the wheels under braking for the first corner.

76 min: Vettel and Schumacher are 11 laps into a long run, while Webber is just six laps into his fourth run on the circuit.

77 min: Ferrari is looking at gearbox issues for Alonso's car, but that will be a practice unit so there is no danger of a penalty for the Spaniard.

78 min: Button has now pitted with his wobbly tyres and will make a switch to the hard rubber for a run to the flag.

79 min: Vettel returns to the pits at the end of a 12 lap run on medium compound tyres. Replays of him locking up at Roggia on his final lap.

80 min: Hamilton is lapping in the low 1m30s bracket as he is encouraged on by the team after a quick final sector.

81 min: Schumacher is continuing to hammer on. He is 14 laps into his long run.

81 min: Massa clocks a 1m29.3s as he finds good long run pace on the harder tyres.

82 min: Button clocks a 1m30.1s as he resumes lapping on the harder tyres.

84 min: Raikkonen makes his claim on the race pace stakes with a mid 1m29s lap in his Lotus on hard tyres.

84 min: Button also breaks into the 1m29s bracket as he too finds the harder tyre gives good race pace.

86 min: Webber carries on over the line and into the 13th lap of his long run. Vettel completed 12 tours and pitted about five minutes ago.

86 min: Fuel continues to burn away in these closing stages as Raikkonen improves his pace to a low 1m29s tour.

87 min: Replays of Schumacher beginning to lose grip and catching some oversteer through the Ascari chicane. He regains control and continues.

87 min: Hamilton remains on the medium compound and has been for another trip around the run-off at the second chicane.

88 min: This is Schumacher's 19th lap as he comes towards the end of an extensive run.

88 min: Kobayashi's car is once again stranded in the Sauber garage and his troubled afternoon looks to be over.

89 min: Vettel is back out there for a short run of laps in the final stages. He makes an error at the Roggia chicane but is able to continue.

90 min: The flag is out on second practice at Monza.

13:31 Schumacher crosses the line and clocks 1m29.564s on the 20th lap of his long run, using hard tyres.

13:31 Massa chalks up another lap - his 42nd - with a strong 1m28.7s to end the session for Ferrari.

13:32 Lewis Hamilton bounces back to top the second practice session at Monza, with a best lap of 1m25.290s, ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.

13:33 Alonso's day ended prematurely but he is third, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Massa, Rosberg fifth and Raikkonen sixth for Lotus.

13:33 Di Resta is seventh, just in front of Force India team-mate Hulkenberg, with Perez ninth and Schumacher rounds out the top 10.

13:34 Lots of data for the engineers to crunch here, with tyres looking consistent for race pace but tricky to warm up to single-lap speed.

13:35 Trouble for title leader Alonso with practice engines and gearboxes, but he'll be back in action tomorrow morning with the race components.

13:35 Vettel completed just 12 laps on his long run, while Webber managed 16 laps, Schumacher 21 on the hard tyres and Rosberg a full 22 laps.

13:36 McLaren leads the pack after day one ahead of Ferrari, but will the pecking order change? Join us tomorrow for more action from Monza.