The works Mercedes AMG team were the slowest of the Mercedes powered teams in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza today, but start a high fourth and sixth owing to the superior powerplants.

The team's recent poor performances were for once mitigated at the track which rewards high speed in the straight line, which the Silver Arrows had plenty of this weekend.

Scuderia Ferrari were looking serious contenders for pole position for their home race in Monza, but their challenge came unstuck with Fernando Alonso suffering a rear anti-roll bar failure at the beginning of the final session. Felipe Massa put up a strong third fastest time on the board to start in his highest position since last year’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The afternoon saw a good bit of slipstreaming tag-team action from the Ferrari drivers as they took turns giving the other a tow on the straights. The lead car scattered air and the car in its wake experienced lesser drag as a result.

Red Bull Racing were uncompetitive in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this afternoon, the team lacking straight-line speed at the fastest circuit on the calendar. Sebastian Vettel cut his losses with a strong fifth place, while Mark Webber failed to make it into Q3 by six hundredths of a second.

In a car that was 10mph slower than the top runners in the speed trap, Vettel was 7th in the first session. An improved lap only garnered a 9th spot in Q2, but ensured safe passage to the final session where a slower lap (1:24.802) put him sixth on the board, the fastest Renault powered car on the grid. A penalty to Paul di Resta ahead of him for a gear box change moves the world champion up to 5th. The German will be encouraged about his prospects by the Red Bull’s better race pace in comparison to qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton nosed ahead of his long-term nemesis Fernando Alonso by the slimmest of margins as the British ace finished the final practice session in Monza on top. Hamilton set a personal best of 1.24.578s as he finished ahead of Spaniard Alonso by just 0.001s! Paul Di Resta in his Mercedes powered Force India ended the session in a surprise 3rd place. Felipe Massa and Jenson Button made sure of Ferrari and McLaren's domination as the duo finished in 4th and 5th places to set up a mouth-watering qualifying session.

Heikki Kovalainen kicked off the final practice session for the Italian GP under perfect racing conditions, as he led a gaggle of cars onto the majestic Monza circuit. Within seconds, all the 24 mean machines were right out on track as drivers completed a single installation run and immediately dived back into the pits.

Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday proceedings at Monza as the McLaren ace was at his imperious best, setting a stoking 1.25.290s lap. Jenson Button continued to impress as the British ace tucked in behind his teammate to make it a McLaren 1-2 at the end of Friday's practice session. Fernando Alonso was 3rd fastest in his Ferrari although the Spaniard faces a 5 place grid penalty owing to a gearbox change after his F2012 suffered a gearbox malfunction bringing an early end to the session for the Spaniard.

Felipe Massa was the most productive driver of the day having completed the most number of laps as the Brazilian finished in 4th place behind his teammate whilst Nico Rosberg capped a fine day at the office for Mercedes in 5th place.

Lotus F1 Team third driver Jérôme D'Ambrosio will compete for the team in the Italian Grand Prix as a replacement for Romain Grosjean who received a one-race ban after the last race in Spa.

Jérôme – who contested the 2011 Formula 1 season as a driver for the Marussia Virgin Racing team - had a seat fitting in the race chassis on Sunday night in Belgium and is working closely with the team to ensure a seamless transition from third driver to race driver for Monza.