In our era, the historical 3.6-mile (3.793-kilometer) track layout consists of a series of straights and tight chicanes, with drivers spending 83% of the lap distance at full throttle. It delivers the fastest average season speed with constant speeds of over 200 mph (321 kph).
Ferrari finds itself in an excellent position for the race, with Charles Leclerc taking the pole on Saturday. Unfortunately, Sainz will find himself in P18 after changing his engine. Furthermore, Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements, meaning he will start from seventh. Besides Max and Carlos, other drivers received a penalty for changing particular parts, most of which were engines.
As a result, Russell will start alongside Leclerc, while the two McLaren cars will sit in the second row, with Norris in third and Daniel right behind.
The Italian Grand Prix is one of the few races that Red Bull has not won in recent times. In fact, the last Red Bull driver to win here was Sebastian Vettel back in 2013, when he won 13 races that season.
In addition, the last two events at Monza produced surprise winners in Pierre Gasly in 2020 and Daniel Ricciardo in 2021. I believe we have all the reasons to watch this year's Italian Grand Prix.
14:36 UTC Now, the podium celebrations are about to begin. That is all from us today and see you in three weeks for the Singapore Grand Prix.
14:34 UTC
What a fantastic effort. @nyckdevries comes home P9 on his debut @F1 race to pick up two more points for the team ????#WeAreWilliams #ItalianGP
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 11, 2022
14:34 UTC "The end was frustrating, unfortunately we were second but overall I gave it my all. I wish I could have won in front of the amazing Tifosi today. I'm not extremely happy with the race because we finished P2. It just wasn't enough," said a disappointed Charles Leclerc.
14:32 UTC "We had a great race, we were quickest on every compound. Overall, we had a really good day. It was enjoyable to drive today even though it was hot out there. Finally, get to go on a great podium like this," Verstappen said after the race.
14:31 UTC
RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 53/53)
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2022
Points on debut for @nyckdevries ????#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/OCVijR05ho
14:30 UTC Perez managed to come home sixth after starting P13, with an eventful race that featured a brake fire at one point.
14:30 UTC Russell grabbed another podium this year, followed by Sainz and Hamilton to round up the top five.
14:29 UTC De Vries finished in P9, matching Williams best result of the season. What a debut for the Formula E champion.
14:28 UTC
VERSTAPPEN WINS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2022
The Dutchman takes the chequered flag. Leclerc comes home in second with Russell taking the final podium spot #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/HEqXM7CLqp
14:26 UTC First Red Bull victory in Monza since Vettel's win back in 2013.
14:25 UTC The thing is, you can be a fan of whatever team you want, but deep down everybody wants Ferrari to win in Monza. It's just something special.
14:24 UTC It's very unfortunate we have to finish the race like that. The tifosi will be very dissapointed without a doubt.
14:23 UTC The official statement is that we will finish the race under safety car conditions. Imagine if this decision was taken in Abu Dhabi last year. How different things would have been?
14:21 UTC The Red Bull boys are smiling, as well they might be.
14:21 UTC With less than two laps until the end I don't think there are any chances for a restart.
14:19 UTC With no Michael Masi around to let the late cars overtakes, we probably won't have a restart.
14:17 UTC Where is Michael Masi when you need him?
14:16 UTC The Safety Car hasn't been out long enough to back up the pack into one line yet, with Leclerc behind Tsunoda and Bottas and a fair few corners behind Verstappen.
14:14 UTC Russell was the first of the front runners to come into the pits, the timing there working for Mercedes. Sainz is also in, and Hamilton stays out. It's all to play for here as Verstappen asks if he can make a free stop or not.
14:13 UTC Some 2021 Abu Dhabi flashback right here in Monza!
14:13 UTC Verstappen was calmly on his way to his fifth straight race win, but the Safety Car could give Leclerc the win!
14:12 UTC And we have Safety Car. The end of the race will be crazy!
14:12 UTC If a Safety Car is out, all odds are in Leclerc's favor.
14:11 UTC The yellow flags are out as Ricciardo stopped the car. He lost the engine.
14:11 UTC Compared to Nyck, Latifi is in P16.
14:10 UTC De Vries is holding Gasly and Zhou behind. I think De Vries showed everyone why he deserves a seat in F1.
14:08 UTC
Carlos is gaining on George. With 9 laps to go, this could be close. ???? pic.twitter.com/bjLK1jxY4s
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 11, 2022
14:07 UTC Perez just fitted the red soft tires and he returns in seventh behind Hamilton and Norris.
14:06 UTC The Red Bull crew is preparing to call Sergio Perez into the pits.
14:06 UTC
15 laps to go. Max leads after LEC pits while Checo is into the top five ???? pic.twitter.com/Ld2BktPj5k
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 11, 2022
14:05 UTC Meanwhile, in the fight for third place, Sainz is taking another second from George Russell.
14:04 UTC I think Ferrari overlooked the real pace of their cars. Or maybe they thought Red Bull wouldn't be as fast as they are.
14:03 UTC The gap between Verstappen and Leclerc is holding steady. No important recovery made by Leclerc.
14:02 UTC Stroll is the latest to be called in for overheating brakes - and he is retiring the car! That's a double DNF for the team, on a poor day for Aston Martin.
14:02 UTC De Vries is in the last place in the points. It would be a great achievement for the Formula E champion if he could score some points in his first-ever F1 race.
13:58 UTC Charles Leclerc just set the fastest lap of the race!
13:58 UTC To complete the top five we have Russell in third, followed by Sainz and Perez.
13:58 UTC In two laps Charles hasn't made any progress yet in cutting Verstappen advantage.
13:57 UTC
UPDATE: Initial investigations suggest an ERS failure as the cause of Sebastian Vettel's retirement from the #ItalianGP. https://t.co/i46RrvRaIX
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 11, 2022
13:56 UTC Hopefully we will have a grand finale and a photo finish just like we had at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, when the difference between the top two drivers was 0.015 seconds.
13:55 UTC Verstappen has 20 seconds over Leclerc. However, Charles is on fresher and softer tires, but with 18 laps to go it will be hard to catch the Dutchman.
13:53 UTC Leclerc comes ahead of Russell. Right behind in the pits is Hamilton who as well swaps to soft tires.
13:52 UTC Leclerc is in the pits!
13:52 UTC For the moment they are keeping him out on the track. He still leads the race, but Verstappen is closing fast.
13:51 UTC We are on Lap 34 out of 53. Considering that a lap of the Monza circuit is very fast, Ferrari will net to call Leclerc right now if they are going for a two stop strategy.
13:50 UTC Alonso is in the pits - and retiring! He is told there is an "issue" by the team and ordered back in to retire the car.
13:50 UTC
Lap 31/53: Carlos pitting for new Soft tyres ????
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 11, 2022
He is back into P8. #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/3iu1hx8ua2
13:49 UTC Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz is in the pits, fitting a set of soft tires.
13:49 UTC Verstappen set the fastest lap of the race.
13:47 UTC I think Ferrari again made a wrong call with Leclerc strategy because Max is catching him super fast.
13:46 UTC Verstappen has already taken 1.5s out of Leclerc's lead. Again, the Red Bull cars have the best pace.
13:45 UTC
Lewis gets a clean pass on Alonso. Top job Lewis ????
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 11, 2022
Up to P6. pic.twitter.com/aXnhgo53xE
13:41 UTC Verstappen does indeed pit next time around for a set of the medium compound tires. It's a 2.4s stop, and he comes out into clear air in second. The gap to Leclerc is around 9.9s.
13:40 UTC It looks like Verstappen is about to pit because there is movement at the Red Bull box.
13:39 UTC Verstappen and Russell are doing a good job at extending the life span of their red-marked softs.
13:38 UTC The midfield is still very packed and close. Sainz is starting to lose some time over the front three runners.
13:36 UTC I don't know what to believe about Leclerc strategy. The Ferrari are either very confident about their tyre wear or they will have to stop one more time.
13:34 UTC Verstappen is slowly extending his lead over George Russell.
13:34 UTC
Started: 7th ???? Currently: 1st pic.twitter.com/OA88CcF1wu
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 11, 2022
13:34 UTC Replays show a slightly slow stop for Gasly and that's why the undercut didn't work there. All of which means Norris is up to fifth, Alonso is sixth and Hamilton is up to seventh.
13:31 UTC As I said, Leclerc is being told to short-shift. Hopefully he won't need to retire again due to a power unit problem because it will be heartbreaking for the Tifosi.
13:30 UTC Verstappen is now slowly extending his lead, with nearly seven seconds between him and Russell now.
13:29 UTC Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton overtakes Stroll for P11.
13:29 UTC Leclerc has been told to short-shift.
13:28 UTC
Crucial activity in the pits under the virtual safety car. @Charles_Leclerc puts on medium tyres and rejoins third @ScuderiaFerrari. The other drivers stay out.
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) September 11, 2022
13:27 UTC For the moment, only Leclerc and Perez have stopped so far for fresher rubber.
13:27 UTC For the moment, Max Verstappen leads from Russell and Leclerc, with Sainz recovering from P18 to P4.
13:26 UTC Carlos Sainz has just overtaked Daniel Ricciardo for fourth place.
13:25 UTC Leclerc is on the mediums tires now, which will be a tough ask to make the end. Another weird strategy by Ferrari or maybe they did a genius move?
13:23 UTC On the next lap, race leader Charles Leclerc pits for "Plan A". Meanwhile, Verstappen stays out alongside George Russell.
13:22 UTC Most of the field was already past the pit lane entrance so now one had a "free pit stop".
13:22 UTC Vettel said to his team that he was losing power.
13:21 UTC On his final race in Monza, Vettel pulls over at the exit of Turn 7. Now we have a Virtual Safety Car.
13:20 UTC Meanwhile, there is a chain of cars behind Ricciardo. Sainz is doing everything to recover the lost places with that grid penalty. He is now in seventh.
13:20 UTC Sainz overtakes De Vries for P8 and he is now chasing his idol, Fernando Alonso.
13:19 UTC Perez has some smoking brakes problems and he exited the pits in P20. Hopefully he can recover some points for the team.
13:18 UTC At the same time, Perez has pitted and it looks like there is some smoke from the back of the car!!!
13:17 UTC The front three cars (Leclerc, Verstappen and Russell) have a sizeable gap to the rest of the grid. Ricciardo is in P4, but he can't keep up with these three speedmasters.
13:16 UTC Meanwhile, further back, Sainz pick off Vettel for P11 into Parabolica.
13:16 UTC Max Verstappen overtakes George Russell just before the entry into the first chicane. George doesn't fight it overly much. Now the defending champion is two seconds behind his title rival.
13:15 UTC Further replays from the start reveal some contact between a Haas car and Bottas.
13:14 UTC Max Verstappen is already in fourth place after having a fantastic start.
13:14 UTC Norris went into anti-stall, falling down to sixth.
13:13 UTC Lights out and Leclerc had a great start and he reaches the first chicane as the leader.
13:09 UTC The top ten drivers on the starting grid:
- 1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2. George Russell (Mercedes)
- 3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 4. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
- 5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
- 6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- 7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) *5-place grid penalty
- 8. Nyck De Vries (Williams)
- 9. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- 10. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
13:02 UTC The strategy here is usually a one-stop. That is what Pirelli thinks as well for the Italian Grand Prix.
12:58 UTC
Fernando Alonso will start his 349th race today! ????
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2022
That means he will equal Kimi Raikkonen's record of the most race starts in F1 ????#ItalianGP #F1 @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/WFLKGXo0Ah
12:58 UTC Fernando Alonso, with his 349th start in F1 will equal Kimi's record of most race starts in F1.
12:55 UTC Nyck de Vries will start in his first ever F1 race and he already impressed yesterday by taking P8 and out-qualifying his teammate. Without a doubt he will have a seat in F1.
12:54 UTC The drivers have headed to the front of the grid for the pre-race formalities, including the national anthem. But first there is a minute of silence held in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.