Verstappen consolidates his position, Ricciardo climbs in the rankings

What a race! While Max Verstappen started at the front of the Italian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo made one of his best starts of his F1 career. The current championship leader found himself hunting down the Australian. The race was not decided at the start, but during Verstappen and Hamilton’s pit stops.

After the missed pit stops by the teams, the two drivers found themselves on the straight line at the exit of the pits. The seven-time world champion arrived first at the first turn, but the Dutch driver insisted on passing, and the collision was inevitable. As a result, the cars ended up in the gravel and the drivers then abandoned the race. McLaren, led by Ricciardo, could therefore dream of a historic one-two. Starting last with modifications to his car, Valtteri Bottas finished third in the race after a great comeback.

Despite the two retirements, the ranking has not really changed. Verstappen gains two more points on his rival with his second position in the sprint race. Hamilton only finished in fifth place. Bottas (3rd) maintains his lead over Norris (4th), while Perez (5th) is overtaken by the McLaren driver and sees Leclerc (6th) closing in on him.

The middle of the table has changed again. With his victory, Ricciardo (8th) finally overtakes Gasly (9th) and takes the eighth position. A weekend almost to forget for the French. While Gasly did not finish the race, Ocon won only one point by finishing in tenth position. Gasly may be disappointed considering his excellent sprint race the day before the Grand Prix.

The standings after the Italian Grand Prix