MONZA, Italy: Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to delight Ferrari’s massed ranks of fans as Lando Norris again chipped away at struggling champion Max Verstappen’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings.
Monegasque Leclerc claimed victory at Monza for the second time after winning in 2019, holding off McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Norris in a thrilling race in which Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth.
Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season, after his own home Monaco GP, after holding out on a set of hard tires he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.
“I thought that the first time would feel like this and the second time wouldn’t feel as special,” said Leclerc as he basked in the cheers of fans who made the track a joyous, noisy sea of red after the race.
“But my god the emotions in the last few laps; Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special.”
All of Leclerc’s major rivals, apart from teammate Carlos Sainz who ended up finishing fourth ahead of his Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton, pitted twice and McLaren were hoping that the Ferrari pair would do the same.
Instead Leclerc managed to keep his tires in good enough condition to stay ahead and in the end finish the race comfortably in front of Piastri, who had taken the race lead early on after an overtake maneuver on Norris which was as daring as it was tactically questionable.
“Not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today,” said Australian Piastri.
“Happy with the race, the pace I achieved but when you finish second it hurts.”
Briton Norris — who clocked the fastest lap right at the end — will be disappointed by his finish after starting on pole but he managed to chop Verstappen’s championship lead to 62 points with eight races remaining as his Dutch rival’s barren run continued.
“We considered (pitting once) the whole race but it was impossible with our graining. Just disappointed. Ferrari did a better job, so hats off to them,” said Norris.
Verstappen has now failed to win any of the last six GPs after claiming the honors in seven of the first 10, and his and Red Bull’s dominance of F1 looks increasingly in question.
A fourth straight world title looked a near certainty when Verstappen won in Spain back in June, but since then he has only finished on the podium twice.
And his teammate Sergio Perez finishing in eighth meant that McLaren are now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructor’s standings and look favorites to win it for the first time since 1998.
Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced axed Logan Sargeant for Williams following his disastrous showing at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, finish in 12th in his F1 debut.
Earlier Leonardo Fornaroli became the first Italian to win the F3 title, the 19-year-old doing so without winning a single race in this year’s championship.
Trident driver Fornaroli overtook Australian Christian Mansell on the final corner of the 10-race season to grab third place and snatch the title from Gabriele Mini by two points.
Gabriel Bortoleto won the F2 race in dramatic fashion after starting last on the grid, cutting Isack Hadjar’s lead at the top of the stands to just 10.5 points with three races remaining in the season.

MONZA, Italy: Lando Norris gave himself a great chance to further cut Max Verstappen’s Formula One championship lead by taking pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Trailing by 70 points in the drivers’ standings, Norris clocked one minute 19.327 seconds in a one-two with teammate Oscar Piastri, as Red Bull’s Verstappen finished nearly seven-tenths of a second behind in seventh.
Briton Norris claimed his fourth pole of the season, and second in succession, in a car which looks capable of a similar result as at last weekend’s Dutch GP, when he romped home to victory nearly 23 seconds ahead of the three-time champion Verstappen.
A dominant display from Norris and Piastri is great news for McLaren who are only 30 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
“Another pole which is amazing. To have two cars first and second when the field is as tight as it has been all weekend is a surprise, but a nice one,” said Norris.
“My lap, it hurts me to say, wasn’t a great lap. So a bit surprised at the end but very happy.”
Verstappen’s troubles continued, the Dutchman complaining on the team radio about steering and lack of grip on the newly laid tarmac at the Temple of Speed.
The 26-year-old has failed to win any of the last five GPs — only finishing on the podium in two — after claiming the honors at seven of the first 10.
George Russell will sit on the second row for Mercedes alongside Ferrari driver and home hope Charles Leclerc while Lewis Hamilton was one place and 0.509sec ahead of Verstappen in the second Mercedes.
Hamilton is racing for the last time at Monza as a Mercedes driver and Ferrari fans will be keen to see how the 39-year-old will perform on Sunday ahead of his move to the Scuderia at the end of the year.
Mercedes announced on Saturday morning that Hamilton would be replaced by teenage rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has had an eventful weekend after crashing and damaging Russell’s car in Friday’s first practice.
The Italian, who celebrated his 18th birthday last weekend, nearly crashed out of his Formula Two sprint race almost straight after the start, but managed to get back on the track and finish in 18th.
Another rookie Franco Colapinto will have a tough debut F1 race after replacing struggling Logan Sargeant who was axed by Williams after a disastrous weekend at Zandvoort.
The 21-year-old is the first Argentine driver to compete in F1 for over two decades but will start way back in 18th after being eliminated in Q1.