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2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage

The legendary Monza circuit turns 100 this race weekend, so a Ferrari win today will make the tifosi go crazy.
2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage 6 photos
Photo: Formula 1
2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Live Coverage
Being on the calendar since the inaugural F1 season in 1950, the Italian Grand Prix was held at Monza (just outside of Milan) every year except 1980, when the track was undergoing refurbishment at the time. As a result, the 1980 Italian Grand Prix was hosted by the Autodromo Dino Ferrari in Imola.

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.
Live updates (ended):

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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.

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About the author: Silvian Irimia
Silvian Irimia profile photo

Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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