Ferrari has won their second consecutive grand prix in the 2019 Formula One season with Charles Leclerc claiming victory in the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Leclerc held off both Mercedes of Valterri Bottas and his teammate and defending champion Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third, respectively.
Leclerc was the pole-sitter for the second race in a row and held off challenges from Hamilton throughout the first 20 laps of the race until he made his one and only pit stop on Lap 21, allowing Bottas to lead the race for the next seven laps before he made his pit stop and ceded the race lead back to Leclerc, who never relinquished it from that point onward, despite several hard charges from first, Hamilton, who wore out his tires trying to pass Leclerc and then Bottas, who was similarly unable to pass Leclerc in the final laps of the race.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, started the race in fourth but spun out on the seventh lap, then tagged Racing Point’s Lance Stroll as he re-entered the track – incurring a 10-second penalty that effectively left him out of the race and he eventually finished 13th and out of the points. Due to engine penalties, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started in 19th but was able to salvage a few points by working his way up to an eighth place finish.
Hamilton maintains a commanding 63-point lead over his Mercedes teammate, Bottas, in the 2019 Formula One driver’s standings with 284-221 advantage but the race for the third position tightened up considerably with Leclerc’s win as Verstappen, with 185 points, holds a slim three-point advantage over Leclerc with 182 and Vettel lurks close behind with 169 points.
2019 Italian Grand Prix Top 10
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
2 Valterri Bottas Mercedes·#77
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
4 Daniel Ricciardo Renault
5 Nico Hülkenberg Renault
6 Alexander Albon Red Bull
7 Sergio Pérez Racing Point
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull
9 A. Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo
10 Lando Norris McLaren