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Page last updated at 08:56 GMT, Friday, 10 September 2010 09:56 UK

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Italian Grand Prix photos

Ferrari are invariably the centre of attention when the F1 circus rolls into Monza - and with the FIA's controversial ruling on the team orders row coming earlier this week, the scrutiny of Fernando Alonso and co is likely to be as intense as ever

Lewis Hamilton, who has a three-point lead over Mark Webber to defend in the title race, looks ready for action as he arrives at the circuit bright and early

It is a beautiful day at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza as the drivers begin first practice for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix

Ferrari duo Alonso and Massa are "not too happy with the grip" though in the first practice session and are almost one second adrift of the leaders

Monza is the quickest circuit of the year, but Australia's Webber is also a little off the pace and finishes sixth, behind the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Renault's Robert Kubica

Webber's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel fares better though and records the second quickest time of the morning to split the McLaren's of Jenson Button and Hamilton

And it is reigning world champion Button who leads the way. His quickest lap is just 0.097 seconds ahead of Vettel as the drivers head off to the pits for lunch

England boss Fabio Capello watches the action from Ferrari's garage

Fresh from England's Euro 2012 qualifying wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland, manager Fabio Capello makes a return to his native Italy to watch the action from Ferrari's garage

Michael Schumacher continues to lag alongside the also-rans in the middle of the pack for Mercedes although he had already said that he didn't fancy his chances much this weekend

The McLarens have been tipped to be the fastest cars of the weekend but morning pacesetter Button does not fare as well after lunch, dropping to fifth, one place behind team-mate Hamilton

Massa delights the Ferrari fans when he sets his fastest time of the second session to move up to third overall although he does give them a worrying moment when he runs wide at the Parabolica and into the gravel trap

Alonso also makes an unscheduled visit to the gravel trap but he too finds more grip as he briefly posts the fastest time of the day before being eclipsed

German driver Vettel ends the day as the quickest driver, 0.076 seconds ahead of Alonso, although just 0.371 secs separate the top five. Vettel's Red Bull colleague Webber is sixth

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