The 2022 Italian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen under the Safety Car, with pole-sitter Charles Leclerc finishing second as Red Bull denied Ferrari a home victory at Monza.
The mixed-up grid lined up behind Leclerc and fellow front-row starter George Russell in the Mercedes, both eschewing the general consensus of medium tyres to begin on new softs, along with Verstappen, Williams’ debutant Nyck de Vries, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Max Verstappen advanced from P7 on the grid to P3 by Lap 4 and took P2 from Russell a lap later. The Dutchman then took the lead after pitting from softs to mediums during a Virtual Safety Car period (due to Sebastian Vettel’s DNF on Lap 12).
Verstappen extended his first stint and pitted for mediums on Lap 26, handing the lead back to Leclerc, who pitted again on Lap 33 for soft tyres. The Monegasque driver had a tyre advantage over Verstappen, but had to claw back a 20-second deficit by Lap 53. The Dutchman appeared to be on his way to a comfortable victory until a Safety Car was called on Lap 48 for Daniel Ricciardo’s stationary McLaren. The top five were able to pit for softs in anticipation of a restart.
