Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 2022 Italian Grand Prix which finished the last five laps under a safety car after McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo’s car failed on the course. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell in third.
Leclerc began the race in pole position alongside Russell on the first row while Verstappen, starting in the fourth row in seventh position after absorbing a grid penalty, was able to take advantage of a poor start by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, to immediately move into third place after the first lap. By Lap 12, Verstappen was in the lead after Leclerc chose to pit early when Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel triggered a virtual safety car.
Verstappen held the lead for 13 laps before pitting and handing over the race lead to Leclerc for the next nine laps which is where it remained until Lap 48 of the 53-lap race when Ricciardo’s car failed, causing the race to finish under the caution flag – the proper following of the rules – a stark reminder of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix fiasco where a rogue race director altered a similar ending and created a favorable situation for Verstappen and unfavorable situation for seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton [who finished fifth in this race].
2022 Italian Grand Prix – Top 10 Finishers
1] Max Verstappen Red Bull
2] Charles Leclerc Ferrari
3] George Russell Mercedes
4] Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari
5] Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
6] Sergio Pérez Red Bull
7] Lando Norris McLaren
8] Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri
9] Nyck de Vries Williams
10] Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo