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Formula 1
Italian GP
F1 Italian GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Updates from the Sunday at Monza for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix
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Max Verstappen comes into the final European race of the season on red-hot form with four consecutive wins, which has seen him stretch his F1 world championship lead to 109 points.
It means the pressure increases on home favourites Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, who took pole position for the Scuderia's home race in Italy.
Verstappen was one of a number of drivers to take a grid penalty for power unit changes, elevating Mercedes' George Russell to the front row - with last year's winner Daniel Ricciardo moved up to fourth behind McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
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Ricciardo, in 11th, is starting to collect a DRS train, with Gasly, de Vries and Zhou tucked up behind him.
Stopwatch
It's now a 1m24.829s for Verstappen, bringing the gap to Leclerc down to eight seconds. Sainz is still third and yet to pit, but it looks likely that they'll put softs on that Ferrari later on.
Verstappen posts a 1m25.012s on his first racing lap on the mediums, as he has a nine-plus second gap to overcome to Leclerc.
Hamilton, with the aid of DRS, gets ahead of Alonso running down the main straight and into Turn 1. The Mercedes driver will want to scamper clear in sixth before he needs to pit in a few laps.
Pit stop
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 25, and comes out behind Leclerc. One stop expected for the Red Bull driver, who's now on the mediums.
Perez gets by Schumacher to take eighth place and now has 10 seconds to bridge to join the Hamilton vs Alonso fight.
Alonso is concerned because he has got Hamilton in his mirrors. The pair are about to engage in a fight for sixth place.
Alonso questions if Alpine's power deployment is working as it should be with his engine and as he gets confirmation it is he replies with a sarcastic "wow". Not quite a "GP2 engine" moment, but it is along those lines.
Pit stop
Russell pits from second, and will come out behind Sainz - and ahead of Norris. Hard tyres for the Merc driver.
Norris is going about the right way to get the overcut done on Ricciardo and Gasly, as he's lapping in the 1m26s - Ricciardo and Gasly are in the 1m27s. De Vries behind them is on Norris' pace.
The early-stopping Perez moves up to ninth place, going around the outside of Bottas at Turn 1, to mark the latest step on his climb up the order.
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Leclerc is now 14.8s off Verstappen in the lead, but still has an awful long way to go on those medium tyres. "We are thinking Plan C," Leclerc is told, which could be a two-stop. Let's wait and C.
Pit stop
Ricciardo pits from fifth to try and counter Gasly - and does so, getting back out ahead of the AlphaTauri.
Pit stop
F1 debutant de Vries has been shown the black and white flag for track limits. He needs to be careful for the rest of the race to avoid a five-second penalty coming his way. The Dutch driver pits and returns in 14th.
Pit stop
After a calm start to the race Hamilton is now making progress up the order, moving up to a promoted ninth as Gasly, Zhou and Stroll pit ahead of him.
Pit stop
Gasly pits from sixth, and Zhou pits from P10. Hard tyres for the both of them.
On lap 18 Norris gets back ahead of Alonso to regain seventh place, using DRS and then diving up the inside at Turn 1.
Stopwatch
It's a 1m25.145s for Leclerc, who is closing in on Russell and Verstappen slightly as of the end of lap 17.
Penalty
The stewards have done their deliberating and decided to give Magnussen a five-second penalty for his first corner cutting exploits. He's 16th and not going that quickly, so that'll wreck his hopes for points.
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"Do not short shift, corner exit," Leclerc is told. "No, I can't," comes the driver's reply, who asks them to check the engine is okay.
Pit stop
Latifi pits for Williams and also makes the switch to the hard tyres, coming out behind Perez in 19th.
Perez is the hard tyre guiena pig this weekend, and his pace in clean air is matching the current pace of the likes of Russell and Sainz.
Ricciardo is at risk of losing further places - Gasly gets past briefly, but clunks over the Turn 1 kerb and has to give back fifth at the start of lap 14.
Norris isn't having a great time of things. He runs off track at the first corner and that drops him behind Alonso and into eighth place.
It was kind of a half-VSC pitstop there for Leclerc, as Sainz bolts past Ricciardo for fourth at Ascari.
A first corner incident involving Magnussen - leaving the track and gaining an advantage - is under investigation with the stewards.
Pit stop
Leclerc comes in to stop, picking up the mediums - just as the virtual safety car ends! It's a slightly cheaper pitstop, and Leclerc just stays ahead of Ricciardo. That was tight.
Safety car
Sainz nips past Gasly, moments before a virtual safety car is called. Good timing from the Ferrari driver, who's up to P5.
Safety car
The Virtual Safety Car has been called so the track marshals can rescue Vettel's stranded Aston safely. All drivers have just gone by the pitlane so, at the moment, nobody is able to take a cheap pitstop. Yet.
Mechanical problem
Vettel reports he is losing power - and he is out of this race! He's pulled over to the side of the track and that's his afternoon over.
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"If Verstappen goes to Plan C, we will go to plan B", Leclerc is told. I think that was the order - too many plans to remember.
Sainz must be getting a few tenths per lap from the power of the tifosi! He's already up to sixth place, getting by Norris into Turn 1.
Perez is asked to move his brake bias to the rear by Red Bull in order to protect his fronts while trying to use cool air to put out the fire on his front-right. He's still circulating at pace and due to his early stop he's in last place.
Leclerc's now just 1.5s ahead of Verstappen - with Russell 3s adrift at this stage. Ricciardo, Gasly and Norris will soon have Sainz to worry about.
Pit stop
At the end of lap seven, Perez pits to ditch his mediums for fresh hards. He exits the pits with a smoking brake - that's on fire!
Stopwatch
Verstappen now turns up the wick and does a 1m25.297s - about 0.2s quicker than Leclerc at the end of lap 7.
Perez is trying to follow Sainz still, but is making slower progress. He gets by Ocon at the Rettifilo chicane to take 13th place but has the two Astons between him and Sainz.
Leclerc's managed to get 2.2s up the road from Verstappen, whose pace has stalled out without DRS now. Behind Russell, the DRS Express is forming with Ricciardo at the front.
Sainz, meanwhile, isn't hanging about. He's already 10th on lap six having got by both Aston Martins and Ocon. That Ferrari is flying.
Hamilton is making slower progress from the back, just as he had predicted earlier in the weekend, as he gets by Schumacher for 18th. How long until he flicks on Game of Thrones?
By: autosport.com
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