Leclerc delights Tifosi with pole position at Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari on pole position for the Italian Grand Prix to the delight of the Monza crowd.

Leclerc pulled out all the stops with his final run at the Temple of Speed to send the Tifosi wild, with Max Verstappen having to settle for second.

Verstappen will likely line up in fourth, with the world champion among nine of 20 drivers punished for exceeding their number of allocated engine parts.

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton qualified third, fourth and fifth respectively, but the trio also face grid sanctions. Hamilton will start from the back after taking on his fourth engine of the season - one more than he is allowed.

George Russell finished sixth but takes advantage of those above being penalised to join Leclerc on the front row. Lando Norris qualified seventh but is set to start third in his McLaren once the grid penalties are applied.

Hamilton's yellow 44 on the side of his Mercedes has been turned to black in honour of the Queen, with a plethora of tributes being paid up and down the paddock to the long-serving monarch.

A one-minute silence was staged ahead of practice on Friday, with another to follow on the grid in the moments before Sunday's race. The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, will be present for the formalities.

Mattarella, and the majority of the 125,000 fans expected for race day, will be rooting for a Ferrari win with Leclerc out to stop Verstappen's run of four consecutive victories.

Verstappen is on course to secure his second world title in as many seasons - possibly as early as the next round in Singapore - after winning 10 of the 15 rounds staged so far.

But Leclerc, 109 points behind the Red Bull driver, will be out to restore pride in a season in which Ferrari -