Verstappen was absolutely on top almost from the off in what was ultimately a rather pedestrian Italian GP. Such is the world champion’s composure and pace at the moment, having made the opening passes of the race clear, the result never really looked in doubt. Indeed, once the Dutchman had the lead, he was untroubled at the front for his first Monza victory. Verstappen now has five wins in a row in an indomitable run that has ensured he has a hand in his second championship. His 31st career victory is his 11th this season and in another remarkable display of dominance and controlled ability to move through the field. It is the third time he has won from seventh or lower on the grid this year. He now leads second-placed Leclerc by 116 points and with six meetings to go and 164 points up for grabs, he could potentially seal the title at the next round in Singapore or almost certainly rule out the next race in Japan. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s joint record of 13 wins in a season is also very much on his mind. This was another masterclass from the world champion who displays control and composure that has left his opponents reeling. Leclerc had just held his lead from pole until the first chicane from Russell, but Verstappen’s determination was immediately clear as he made up two places at the first corner. The Dutchman then took fourth place, passing Pierre Gasly at Ascari, while Daniel Ricciardo dropped straight away on the second lap, moving him into third. He had closed to within a tenth of Russell by lap four with the front two runners simply not having time to open a gap on Verstappen. A lap later he had a strong run down the start-finish straight to dive in front of the British driver all the way to the inside at turn one. Hamilton from 19th was unable to make such quick progress, dropping a place on the fifth lap. Sainz in the Ferrari was moving quickly, however, from 18th to sixth by lap 12. Verstappen was two seconds behind Leclerc and seemingly unstoppable. However, the Monegasque driver clung to it, with Verstappen only taking a tenth of the lap off his lead. His gains were relentless, however, and the gap was down to one second by the 12th lap. Charles Leclerc in the pits. Photo: Dan Istitene/Formula 1/Getty Images VSC was called when Sebastian Vettel crashed with a problem with his car. Ferrari put Leclerc under VSC to go for a free pit stop and emerged third ahead of traffic, but Ferrari had committed to a long final pass and did not enjoy the full benefits of VSC which ended mid-stop their. Verstappen was out, while Leclerc now had to complete the rest of the race on medium tyres. Verstappen took the lead from Russell, with Leclerc 17 seconds back, while Hamilton eventually moved up the field, reaching 11th by lap 18. Red Bull pitted Verstappen on lap 25 to take the middle tyre, with 28 laps to go. He came second, 10 seconds behind Leclerc but on much fresher tyres. Hamilton dropped out after reaching seventh, where he battled with Fernando Alonso, eventually reaching the 27th lap. Verstappen was now setting the pace, however, with up to half a second lap needed from Leclerc’s lead and Ferrari had no choice but to try to make two stops of their man. They duly pitted Leclerc on lap 33 to get the soft tires to chase the Dutchman. He emerged 18 seconds back with 20 laps to go, an order of nearly a second a lap. Which it became clear was indeed too much when Leclerc couldn’t match let alone beat Verstappen’s pace. However, while Verstappen held on to what seemed an inevitable victory, a safety car was called late on lap 48 when Ricciardo stopped on the track. Red Bull pitted Verstappen and Leclerc had to match them, but there was to be no late drama. Ricciardo’s car could not be moved in time and the race ended behind the safety car. A far from spectacular finish, but one that Verstappen was perfectly happy with as his second title looms large on the horizon. Quick guide
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Thanks for your response. Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren, Pierre Gasly eighth for AlphaTauri, Nyck de Vries scored his first F1 points in his debut race with ninth for Williams, sitting in Alex Albon’s seat. Guanyu Zhou was tenth for Alfa Romeo.
