Verstappen takes first Italian GP win behind Safety Car as Leclerc settles for P2

MANILA: The 2022 F1 Italian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen while under the Safety Car, with pole-sitter Charles Leclerc coming in second as Red Bull prevented Ferrari from winning at home in Monza.

The mixed 2022 Italian Grand Prix grid was lined up behind Leclerc and fellow front-row starter George Russell in the Mercedes after the pit crew paid their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Both drivers chose to start on new soft tyres instead of the more conventional medium tires, joining Verstappen, Williams rookie Nyck de Vries, and Alpine driver Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen extended his initial stint on lap 26 and changed to medium tires, giving the lead back to Leclerc. Leclerc then made a second pit stop for soft tires on lap 33. Verstappen held a tire edge over the Monegasque driver, but the latter had a 20-second deficit to make up by lap 53.

Until a Safety Car was called for Daniel Ricciardo's stalled McLaren on Lap 48, the Dutchman appeared to be winning easily. The top five were able to pit for softs in preparation for a restart as a result.

However, despite it appearing as though Ricciardo's vehicle was unmovable, the field was still behind the Safety Car by the time the race reached lap 53 and the chequered flag, giving Verstappen a narrow but ultimately comfortable victory over Leclerc and preserving Russell's spot on the final podium of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

With a long first stint on medium tires, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz advanced from P18 to the podium positions, but after pitting, he dropped to P4 and finished behind Russell.

Sergio Perez, driving the second Red Bull, pitted early for hard tyres and finished sixth and fastest lap after starting in 13th place. Lewis Hamilton, driving the Mercedes, chose not to pit under the late Safety Car and finished fifth for the team.

After starting on the second row, Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren, and Pierre Gasly took eighth for AlphaTauri. Nyck de Vries, who was competing in his maiden Grand Prix, finished eighth for Williams and was named Driver of the Day of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu completed the top 10, with Ocon losing out on points. Mick Schumacher improved late to finish in P12 for Haas ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo, with Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri finishing in P14 after pitting under caution.

Prior to Kevin Magnussen of Haas, who received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on Lap 1 in the Haas, Nicholas Latifi, who was lagging on hard tires, finished 15th for Williams.

While both of the Aston Martins driven by Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel failed to finish the race due to suspected power unit difficulties, Ricciardo's late retirement brought out the Safety Car. Fernando Alonso also retired, putting an end to the Alpine driver's streak of points scoring.

“The first lap I had to be careful but we had a good start and were clean through the first chicane and for me that was the most important thing, to stay out of trouble. Then we were very quickly back up to P3 and even into P2, then I could set my sights on Charles and I could see we had better tyre degradation,” Max Verstappen expressed about the outcome of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

“Overall if you look at the pace of our car this weekend, especially today, I think we were strong. The pace was good on every tyre and we were comfortably the quickest on the track. You have to try and be as perfect as you can be and on most occasions this season, we have been pretty good,” he added.

Leclerc was cruising during the opening stint for Ferrari after taking the lead off the start. He was nonetheless summoned under a VSC early, leaving him with a challenging two-stop plan. He had the late-race duty of catching up to Verstappen and wasn't reducing his rival's margin when the Safety Car appeared.

Prior to the late Safety Car neutralizing the race, Sainz and Russell would have been battling for the final podium slot. However, Sainz scythed his way back through the pack early on.

"Monza is always incredible. Starting from pole, I did want to take the win. However, that’s not how it went today. Seeing our tifosi under the podium made it a lot better.

"Our pace was good and we have to keep in mind that our expectations for this track were not very high. We worked a lot throughout the practice sessions to secure pole, which was a nice surprise. We have made some positive progress and were more competitive this weekend, so I am looking forward to be back racing in Singapore,” Leclerc said.

Aston Martin's Free Practice driver on Friday was 27-year-old Nyck de Vries, who was then called up to a full race drive with Williams on Saturday and Sunday to fill in for the appendicitis-afflicted Alex Albon. It was a remarkable Italian Grand Prix weekend for Nyck de Vries.

F1 experts and fans were thrilled by De Vries' performance. He got the title of "Driver of the Day" for his excellent drive to P9, which assisted Williams in achieving just their fourth score of the year. The weekend was ideal for a driver hoping to maneuver himself into a full-time F1 position for 2023.

Sadly, Daniel Ricciardo, who won the Italian Grand Prix in 2021, did not finish this year's competition. Several penalties for cars ahead allowed the Australian to advance to Q3 and start from P4. Then, when his McLaren MCL36 broke down, Ricciardo appeared to be on the verge of earning his first points since July in France. However, the late Safety Car effectively sealed the outcome.

Despite the fact that Ferrari did not win this past weekend, Monza was at capacity for the first time since back in 2019. The festival atmosphere could not be dampened, but Leclerc did at least provide Ferrari supporters a fantastic pole position and a podium finish.

It was also a great way for Monza to commemorate its 100th year in business, with the Temple of Speed still putting on thrilling races as it approaches its centennial.

On September 30 to October 2, the field returns to Marina Bay for the long-awaited 2022 F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Photos from Formula One

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