Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc. Pic/AFP

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 tyres he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.

Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane's century keeps Leicestershire afloat

"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.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever