F1 Italian Grand Prix: Verstappen storms to victory on Ferrari home ground, extends massive points lead

F1 completes its triple-header this weekend at the fastest track on the calendar as the series heads to Monza’s “Temple of Speed.” Max Verstappen looks to move a step closer to a second-straight drivers championship but will have to overcome a five-place grid penalty to do so. Conversely, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is out to take a bite out of the 109-point lead Verstappen holds coming into the weekend and is off to a good start by claiming pole in Saturday's qualifying session.

Italian Grand Prix results

1. Max Verstappen Red Bull-RBPT

2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari

3. George Russell Mercedes

4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari

5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

6. Sergio Perez Red Bull-RBPT

7. Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes

8. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-RBPT

9. Nyck de Vries Williams-Mercedes

10. Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

11. Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault

12. Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari

13. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

14. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RBPT

15. Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes

16. Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari

17. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes

18. Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault

19. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes

20. Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes

Italian Grand Prix starting grid

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2. George Russell, Mercedes

3. Lando Norris, McLaren

4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull-RBPT

5. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren

6. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri-RBPT

7. Fernando Alonso, Alpine

8. Sergio Perez, Red Bull-RBPT

9. Esteban Ocon, Alpine-Renault

10. Nyck de Vries, Williams-Mercedes

11. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

12. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

13. Nicholas Latifi, Williams-Mercedes

14. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin-Mercedes

15. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin-Mercedes

16. Kevin Magnussen, Haas-Ferrari

17. Mick Schumacher, Haas-Ferrari

18. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

19. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

20. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri-RBPT

Grid drops galore

Due to teams going over their allotment of parts and/or engine components, several stronger cars will be relegated to the midfield or back of the pack to begin the Italian Grand Prix. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz along with Yuki Tsunoda will have to start at the back of the grid, while the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher receive 15-place grid drops. Sergio Perez will take a 10-place grid drop while his Red Bull teammate Verstappen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon both will start at least five places lower than their qualifying position.

Albon out with appendicitis

Willams-Mercedes driver Alexader Albon has been diagnosed with appendicitis and is no longer taking part in the Italian Grand Prix weekend. Mercedes reserve driver and 2019 Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries will make his Formula 1 debut filling Albon’s seat for qualifying and the race.

Italian Grand Prix TV schedule

Fans in the United States can watch practices, qualifying and the race on TV via the ESPN family of networks or stream it via ESPN or F1TV Pro.

(All times ET)

Saturday, Sept. 3

Qualifying: 9:55 - 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, Sept. 4

Pre-race show: 7:30 - 8:55 a.m. (ESPN2)

Italian Grand Prix: 8:55 - 11 a.m. (ESPN2)

Top drivers and best bets for the Italian Grand Prix

Having 10 of the 14 races so far and with the aforementioned points advantage, Verstappen enters as the overwhelming favorite at -185 according to BetMGM. Leclerc has the next-best moneyline at +200, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell at +700. The rest of the field, mainly due to expected engine penalties, is at +4000 or longer.

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg likes Verstappen at -200 to win pole with Red Bull’s mighty straight line speed advantage and both Mercedes of Russell and seven-time drivers’ champion Lewis Hamilton to finish in the top six (-200). Bromberg also points out Verstappen’s odds for fastest lap (-140), Perez to finish on the podium (+150).

Italian Grand Prix weekend forecast

The weather shouldn’t play much of a factor as forecasts call for warm temperatures around 80 degrees with cloud cover for Saturday’s qualifying and sunshine for Sunday’s race.