Championship leader Jenson Button looks in relaxed mood as he takes a pre-qualifying stroll around the paddock with his girlfriend Jessica Michibata
All eyes are on Ferrari new boy Giancarlo Fisichella in Monza - the 36-year-old moved to the prancing horse after giving Force India their best ever Grand Prix finish when he came second in Belgium
Fisichella's final practice session ends when he misses his braking point coming into Parabolica - he watches the last 35 minutes from the garage instead of gaining valuable time getting to grips with his new car
Force India continue to catch the eye, after topping the timesheets on Friday Adrian Sutil posts the fastest lap of Saturday's final practice session - the Silverstone-based team look to have competitive pace in Italy
Sutil will be aiming to get his first points finish for Force India on Sunday - the key to that will be a good qualifying session and the 26 year-old German backs up his practice performances by qualifying second
BMW Sauber were tipped as potential dark horses for a high-placed finish at Monza - but both Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica suffer engine problems and fail to make the final qualifying session
England's football manager, the Italian Fabio Capello is in Monza for the Grand Prix. Quite a few F1 teams will be hoping a bit of his sparkle rubs off on them after he masterminded England's qualification for the 2010 World Cup
With his team accused of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix Renault team boss Flavio Briatore looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders as he talks on his mobile phone in the Monza paddock
Back on the track Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is showing some impressive pace - The Finn makes the most of his Kers power-boost system to qualify in third place for his team's home grand prix
Lewis Hamilton leads the way in qualifying, here some Italian fans get a close up look at his McLaren as it zooms around a picturesque tree-lined section of the royal park circuit
It has been a low-key weekend for championship challengers Red Bull and that continues on Saturday as Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber qualify ninth and 10th respectively for Sunday's race
BBC Formula 1 pundit David Coulthard chews the fat with his former team-mate Mark Webber in the Red Bull garage - it looks like they had plenty to discuss
Vitantonio Liuzzi steps in Giancarlo Fisichella's shoes for Force India and the Italian produces an excellent qualifying performance, beating Renault's Fernando Alonso into eighth with an impressive lap of 1:25.043
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen could be driving for his future here in Monza and the Finn outlined his case for a new contract by qualifying fourth fastest for Sunday's 13th race of the season
Hamilton gets his second pole of the season after a thrilling third qualifying session which saw him duelling for the lead with Force India's Sutil right up to the closing seconds of the session
Adrian Sutil and Lewis Hamilton congratulate each other after a fine qualifying battle - the duo are close friends and former team-mates from their days in Formula 3
Sutil starts Sunday's race from second position on the Monza grid - it's the second successive race that a Force India has featured on the front row - Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen qualifies in third
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