Max Verstappen wins Italian Grand Prix to close in on F1 title

MONZA: Max Verstappen won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to leave himself in touching distance of his second straight Formula One title. Championship leader Verstappen claimed his first win at Monza and his fifth GP in a row after fighting from seventh on the grid to beat Charles Leclerc over the line on another difficult day for Ferrari. The Red Bull driver is 116 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers’ standings after winning a race whose final six laps were run with the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo lost his engine and ended up at the side of the track.

“We had a great race, we were quickest on every compound,” said Verstappen, who had never even made the podium at Monza and started Sunday’s race with a grid penalty. With six races left, the Dutchman can win the driver’s crown at next month’s Singapore GP. The Monza crowd booed and whistled loudly as the cars came over the line as they were denied the chance to see their man Leclerc try to overtake dominant Verstappen, who won his 11th race of the season.

“The end was frustrating, I wish could have had a bit of racing at the end, unfortunately we were second because of what happened before,” said Leclerc. The Monegasque appeared frustrated after Ferrari’s plan of pitting early to change from soft to medium tires backfired. “Obviously we finished P2 so I’m not extremely happy with the race but we will work on that,” added Leclerc.