Not red-flagging Italian GP defended as a 'not significant enough' reason to do so

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, defended its decision not to red flag the climax of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix - after Max Verstappen's victory behind the safety car was booed by furious Ferrari fans.

Verstappen could clinch his second world championship at the next round in Singapore on 3 October, following his fifth victory in succession. His title lead stands at 116 points with only 150 available.

Charles Leclerc provided some opposition to Verstappen, but an aggressive two-stop strategy by Ferrari did not pay off.

On lap 47 of 53, Leclerc trailed Verstappen by 16 seconds. However, he looked set to be handed another shot at victory when Daniel Ricciardo broke down between the two Lesmos, and the safety car was deployed.

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LAP 47/53 Ricciardo has pulled up at the side of the track We have a ?? SAFETY CAR ??#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ETbdMtFN9T

Cheers to jeers

Huge roars rippled around the Monza Autodromo. But the Tifosi's cheers turned to jeers when Ricciardo's McLaren could not be removed from danger in time, and normal racing conditions did not resume.

Leclerc finished second ahead of George Russell, following another fine performance from the British driver in his Mercedes-AMG. Lewis Hamilton, thrown down the grid for exceeding his allocation of engine parts, drove well from 19th to fifth in the sister Mercedes.

Verstappen faced a chorus of boos when he arrived on the podium as fans gave the thumbs down following the result.

READ: WRAP | Verstappen takes Italian GP win as race ends under safety car

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "We had the faster car, and we would have liked to have won the race on the