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
Max Verstappen Red Bull-RBPT
Charles Leclerc Ferrari
George Russell Mercedes
Carlos Sainz Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Sergio Perez Red Bull-RBPT
Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-RBPT
Nyck de Vries Williams-Mercedes
Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault
Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari
Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RBPT
Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes
Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari
Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes
Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault
Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes
Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes
Italian Grand Prix starting grid
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
George Russell, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren
Max Verstappen, Red Bull-RBPT
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri-RBPT
Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Sergio Perez, Red Bull-RBPT
Esteban Ocon, Alpine-Renault
Nyck de Vries, Williams-Mercedes
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari
Nicholas Latifi, Williams-Mercedes
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin-Mercedes
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin-Mercedes
Kevin Magnussen, Haas-Ferrari
Mick Schumacher, Haas-Ferrari
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
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.
A look at ALL of the grid penalties ahead of qualifying. All seems a bit daft, doesn't it?
🖥️ https://t.co/qCG8cDgJat pic.twitter.com/nrEtSiOABT— The Race (@wearetherace) September 10, 2022
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.