Formula 1: Max Verstappen gets win No. 11 of 2022 in Italian Grand Prix

Nick Bromberg

Max Verstappen spoiled a Ferrari party at Monza with an easy win in the Italian Grand Prix.

Verstappen moved his way from seventh to second in the first five laps of the race and cruised to a win ahead of polesitter Charles Leclerc in second and George Russell in third. Leclerc pitted before both Verstappen and Russell and ended up having to make a second stop in the second half of the race.

The race ended under caution after Daniel Ricciardo’s car stopped on track with five laps to go. With his car stuck in gear and unable to be rolled away, the race couldn’t get restarted since the car had to be picked up by a crane. It's Verstappen's first podium finish at Monza.

Ferrari had hoped to hold off Verstappen after Verstappen had a five-place grid penalty for new car parts over his allotment. But Verstappen scored his 11th win over the first 16 races of the season with a car that simply had too much raw pace for the Ferrari during the race. His move through the field in the opening laps was incredibly easy and he forced Ferrari into pitting Leclerc a second time when he started chipping seconds away from Leclerc’s lead after his own pit stop.

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen steers his car during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza on September 11, 2022. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
Max Verstappen has won all but five Formula 1 races in 2022. Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images) (MIGUEL MEDINA via Getty Images)

Verstappen could have been forced to hold off Leclerc and Russell in a late-race restart but F1 officials chose not to red flag the race in an attempt to finish the race under green. Verstappen famously beat Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 title in the final race of the season after a restart with one lap to go following a crash with five laps to go.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth while Hamilton finished fifth after starting 19th. Sergio Perez was sixth, Lando Norris was seventh, Pierre Gasly was eighth and Nyck De Vries scored a ninth-place finish in his F1 debut. De Vries was called up from his Mercedes reserve driver role to race in place of Alex Albon after Albon was diagnosed with appendicitis.

Verstappen entered the race 109 points ahead of Perez and Leclerc. With 25 points on Sunday to Leclerc’s 18, Verstappen now has a 116-point lead with seven races to go and it’s possible that he could clinch the title on Oct. 2 in Singapore.

Italian Grand Prix results

1. Max Verstappen

2. Charles Leclerc

3. George Russell

4. Carlos Sainz

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Sergio Perez

7. Lando Norris

8. Pierre Gasly

9. Nyck De Vries

10. Guanyu Zhou

11. Esteban Ocon

12. Mick Schumacher

13. Valtteri Bottas

14. Yuki Tsunoda

15. Nicholas Latifi

16. Kevin Magnussen

17. Daniel Ricciardo

18. Lance Stroll

19. Fernando Alonso

20. Sebastian Vettel

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