Leclerc led from pole position, elbowing Mercedes’ George Russell wide at the first corner, but he made an early pitstop during a virtual safety car period on Lap 12. That allowed Verstappen, who charged his way up from seventh on the grid, into the lead.
Leclerc led again when Verstappen pitted near the half distance point, but the Ferrari team leader went for a second stop when it became apparent the reigning champion would easily overhaul him in the final 20 laps.
Leclerc didn’t have the pace to make substantial inroads into Verstappen’s lead, and a late safety car to retrieve Daniel Ricciardo’s stranded McLaren meant the race ended under yellows, so Verstappen literally cruised to his fifth consecutive win.
2022 Italian Grand Prix race results
How the Italian Grand Prix unfolded
Leclerc (who started on soft tyres) held his pole position advantage on the long run to Turn 1, ahead of Russell (also on softs, with the majority behind starting on mediums) who straightlined the first chicane after Leclerc shoved him wide beyond the first apex. Further back, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton – who started 19th – followed his teammate’s route and dropped to last.
Ricciardo ran fourth ahead of Verstappen (up from a penalised seventh on the grid, also running softs) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri). McLaren’s Lando Norris made a terrible start from third, dropping to sixth. Verstappen outdragged Ricciardo for third at the start of the second lap, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (who started 18th) got past Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for 15th in the early exchanges.
Verstappen quickly caught Russell and outbraked him at the Rettifilo chicane at the start of Lap 5 to take second. Leclerc was 2.2s up the road at this point.
As Sainz carved his way into the top 10, up to seventh by Lap 10, former sparring partner Perez fell to the rear with a burning right-front brake after stopping for hard tyres. Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin was forced to a smoky halt with ERS failure on Lap 12, causing a brief virtual safety car.
Leclerc took this opportunity to pit for mediums, as Verstappen stayed out and picked up the lead ahead of Russell. Leclerc rejoined in third, just ahead of Ricciardo, who was passed by Sainz at Ascari. Behind the leaders, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso grabbed seventh when Norris overshot Rettifilo, but Norris got him back there on Lap 18.
Gasly pitted from sixth for hards on Lap 19, triggering much of…
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