- World championship leader wins ahead of Leclerc in Monza
- Russell ends third for Mercedes with Sainz’s Ferrari fourth
Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc’s pit-stop gamble backfired.
The Ferrari driver Leclerc led Verstappen by two seconds at Monza when Sebastian Vettel broke down after a dozen laps and the virtual safety car was deployed. Leclerc dived in to the pits in the hope of making his rubber last to the end, but 125,000 Ferrari hearts sunk in Monza as the Monegasque was forced to concede the lead and stop for a second time.
Their hopes were revived when a safety car proper was deployed on lap 46 of 53 after Daniel Ricciardo stopped in his McLaren. But the marshals could not clear Ricciardo’s machine before the end, and the race effectively finished behind the safety car.
Verstappen took his fifth win in a row, his 11th from 16 races this season, and extended his championship lead to 115 points with just six rounds remaining.
Verstappen will have his first shot at sealing his second world championship in as many seasons at the next round in Singapore on 3 October.