Monza kicks off with tributes to Her Majesty

THERE was a minute’s silence for the Queen and the shows went on. When practice started it was Ferrari leading the way ahead of the Italian president’s visit to Monza tomorrow. Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell stood next to Formula One’s bosses, Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed ben Sulayem as the silence was observed in the pit lane. Personnel from the 10 teams — seven of which are based in the UK — gathered outside their garages as a giant black-and-white image of the Queen was beamed on the podium. Whether the usual sparkling wine will be sprayed remains under discussion. Most of the 125,000-crowd expected will hope it will be a Ferrari man on the top step. There is a decent chance of that after Carlos Sainz set the fastest time of yesterday, but the Scuderia have not claimed a victory in the last four races as Max Verstappen has galloped to victory in them all to move 109 points clear of his nearest challenger, Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc, who had set the pace in the first session.

Hamilton was seventh quickest and that is not the end of his woes. He will go to the back of the grid for taking on a fourth engine. Verstappen and Sainz will also be relegated. The world champion has a new internal combustion engine in his power unit and regresses five slots. Sainz has a glut of engine changes and is destined to start further down the order with Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion, who received his MBE from the Queen in 2009, paid tribute to the deceased monarch, saying: ‘Since the sad news yesterday, I’ve been reflecting on her incredible life. ‘She was a symbol of hope and she served her country with dignity, dedication and kindness.

‘She was truly like no other and I’m grateful to have lived during her time. I had the incredible honour of being able to spend time with her. It is something I’ll never forget.

‘We talked about our shared love of dogs and she was incredibly generous with her time.

‘I know the whole nation and others around the world will be mourning her loss. My thoughts are with her family and all those close to her, who have lost a loved one. Rest in peace.’