Otherwise, enjoy the rest of the weekend. Later.
Right, that’ll be us – see you in a fortnight for Sochi. But to be going on with, here’s some football to elevate your day further.
And here’s Giles Richards on yet another beauty of a race.
It’s so great to see actual racing – it’s been a while since we’ve seen a rivalry like this, two great drivers fighting their arses off not just for points but in direct competition. Christian Horner says his team should never have been in that position because a poor pit was what caused it – Hamilton said the same – and he thinks Hamilton might’ve not left enough room. He felt he had a good car today and that a win or podium were on the cards, but notes that the main thing is that the halo did its job, making sure Hamilton stayed safe. Ultimately, he thinks it’s pretty 50/50, saying Max could’ve held back but Lewis could’ve given him more space, and sees the situation as a racing incident. He puts the pit down to human error, noting Mercedes should’ve been way out in front but messed up their stop, and says there’s a respect between the two drivers, they’re just “competitive animals” going for the world title. He’s expecting them to be side by side on the grid for the majority of the remaining races so expecting them be racing, but isn’t expecting one of them to be blamed for today’s incident. “One of those things,” is his final verdict.
Driver standings
1 Verstappen (Red Bull) 226.5
2 Hamilton (Mercedes) 221.5
3 Bottas (Mercedes) 141
4 Norris (McLaren) 132
5 Perez (Red Bull) 118
6 Leclerc (Ferrari) 104
7 Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 97.5
8 Ricciardo (McLaren) 83
Verstappen tells Sky he’s fine and that he had to go onto the grass because Hamilton cut across him. He was going for it and wanted to work with Hamilton because he wanted to race, but he didn’t expect Hamilton to continue squeezing him until he had nowhere to go because he thought Hamilton would’ve come out in front anyhow. That’s the reason they touched, he reckons, saying that you need two people to work together to prevent incidents like today’s but he doesn’t think Hamilton is up for that – though notes that they’re both professional enough to get past this.
Hamilton says Verstappen’s wheel landed on his head and his a bit stiff in neck and shoulder but he’ll be fine. He says his put was slow, costing him a second a bit, he made sure he left a car’s width, he was ahead going into turn two, “then all of a sudden he was on top of me”. Told that Verstappen says he didn’t leave enough space, he notes that at Imola, he gave way and Verstappen wouldn’t, but they’ll tell the stewards what’s what and see what they say. Asked if he’ll speak to Verstappen, he says that’ll happen then.
And relax. What a race that was – how often have we said that this season? – and with seven races left, we’ve not a clue how it’ll all shake down. I can’t wait to find out but.
And here it is! Ricciardo guzzles fizz out of his shoe, hands it to Norris who does likewise, and I fear I underestimated the aforementioned evening because they’ll both be on it.
Ricciardo raises the trophy and salutes the crowd again. He’s not mucking about, and I daresay he’ll enjoy his evening.
And here comes God Save the Queen in honour of McLaren. Can they now take it on?
Here comes Ricciardo, onto the top of the podium, and he is loving the moment every bit as much as you would, tongue out, arms wide. Here comes Advance Australia Fair.
Updated
I wonder if we’re going to hear from Hamilton and Verstappen. I’d not much want to be the person pursuing them, but at the same time I’d love to be.
“Can I swear?” asks Ricciardo. “No” comes back the answer. “It’s about ... time, he says, using hands to indicate the profanity he’d like to deploy. On Friday, he knew something special was afoot, and he’s been “a sandbagging SOB all year” not challenging for races, so is especially happy to win, to lead from start to finish, and get the one-two. “For once, I’m lost for words,” he declares, then tosses in some Italian when encouraged to by David Coulthard, who didn’t know he actually spoke it. The crowd go wild, and that’s just great.
Norris is told that McLaren are the only team with a one-two this season, then thanks the fans and the teams. “We’ve had a pretty awesome weekend,” he says, and when he joined they were working towards this. He wanted to go for first, but is here for the long-term and for the team - “it could’ve ended up like the other two,” he says. “I’ll get my chance in the future.”
Bottas tells Sky that it’s never easy starting from the back but he told his team he’d get onto the podium today, and though it was a shame to lose his teammate Max, he enjoyed the race. “I dunno ... it’s unfortunate,” he says, looking at footage of the Hamilton crash for the first time. He could not give a rabbit one.
“I don’t think he can get his helmet off because his smile’s too big,” chortles Crofty - what a lovely image that is.
Final standings
1 Ricciardo
2 Norris
3 Bottas
4 Leclerc
5 Perez
6 Sainz Jr
7 Stroll
8 Alonso
9 Russell
10 Ocon
11 Latifi
12 Vettel
13 Giovinazzi
14 Kubica
15 Schumacher
DNF: Mazepin, Hamilton, Verstappen, Gasly, Tsunoda.
Ricciardo climbs onto his halo, then salutes the crowd. What a feeling! What a moment!
“Deep down I knew this was gonna come so thanks for having my back,” says Ricciardo. “For anyone who thought I left, I never left.” He goes on to thanks his team and I can’t wait for his interview.
“Let’s go! Vamos!” shrieks Norris, who’s extremely happy with second.
“Yeahhhhhh! He won!” hollers a cackling Ricciardo, who now has his eighth Grand Prix won. Perez, by the way, ended up fifth once the five-second penalty took effect.
Daniel Ricciardo wins the Italian Grand Prix for McLaren, their first victory in nine years!
What a driver, and it’s a one-two! Lando Norris is second, Valteri Bottas third! Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are nowhere, the gap between them at the top of the driver standings still five points!
Updated
Lap 53/53 Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Olympic men’s 100m champ is poised to wave the chequered flag as Ricciardo cruises home...
Lap 52/53 We’ve still got seven races left this season, so plenty of time for plenty of shenaniga at the top of the driver championship.
Lap 51/53 I hope we get some good joy from Ricciardo when he wins. He’s absolutely nailed this race, and might well be in front even if Verstappen and Hamilton were still with us.
Lap 50/53 This is a great drive from Ricciardo – he’s made no mistakes since taking out Verstappen from the start.
Lap 49/53 Ricciardo leads by 1.334, and Norris in second leads Perez by 1.786 – and remember Perez has a five-second penalty coming. That’ll leave him seventh, if things end up as they are now.
Lap 48/53 If, like me, you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you’ll be struggling to grasp that McLaren haven’t win a race since 2012, 170 races ago – it’s the second-longest gap between victories in F1 history. And it’s going to be a one-two too, because Norris is holding off Perez.
Updated
Lap 47/53 It really is amazing that Verstappen and Hamilton took each other out, and even more than that, it really is amazing that it’s unclear who, if anyone, caused it.
Lap 46/53 We’ve seen hardly anything of Ricciardo these last few laps, which tells us how serene his progress has been. Talking of serenity, we’ve heard nothing from Hamilton since his race ended, and I can’t wait to hear how he feels about things, likewise Verstappen.
Lap 45/53 Off goes the virtual safety car and Ricciardo leads Norris by 2.069 – he’s going to win, assuming nothing untoward happens. Perez is a further 1.640 behind, with Bottas, who’s flying, a further 0.542 further back.
Lap 44/53 Mazepin is out! He was last at the time, so it’s been a fine day for him, and while his mechanically-failing car is wheeled off we’ve got a virtual safety car situation. That’s great news for the leader.
Updated
Lap 43/53 Norris asks his team if it’s definitely better that the doesn’t overtake while Bottas attacks Perez and gets by ... but hacks at his breaks and Perez passes him!
Lap 42/53 Ricciardo leads by 1.351 and we learn that, if he wins, he earns himself a NASCAR drive due to a bet of some sort. Lovely stuff!
Updated
Lap 41/53 “If it had been Hamilton running into the back of Verstappen,” emails Colin Vickers, “everyone would have been on Hamilton’s back.”
I’m not sure about that. It looked a 50/50 collision to me.
Lap 40/53 Mazepin is handed a second time penalty for causing a collision – he was last before it, so – and Ricciardo leads Norris by 1.279, who leads Perez by 1.074. And, as I type that, Norris is ordered not to overtake, which is bad news for Bottas because it means he’ll be focused on securing the win for his teammate.
Lap 39/53 Bottas might just’ve slowed down a little, and the longer he goes without passing Perez the less likely he is to challenge for the lead.
1 Ricciardo
2 Norris
3 Perez
4 Bottas
5 Leclerc
6 Sainz
Lap 38/53 This is a real chance for Bottas to show that he’s learning and improving, because you’d expect the best drivers to find a way to win from fourth, in the fastest car. But at the front, Ricciardo extends his lead to 1.2s or so.
Lap 37/53 I really like how Ricciardo has driven today and he’s slightly increased his lead to 1.253. Meantime, Perez has been penalised five seconds for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when overtaking Leclerc. But it’ll be taken after the race, so he’s still there blocking off Bottas.
Lap 36/53 Ricciardo is told to go as fast as he can – smart advice imo – because Bottas’ pace is a threat. Ricciardo leads Norris by just over a second.
Lap 35/53 Bottas’ mediums mean he’s running fastest at the moment, but whether he can overtake remains to be seen. In commentary, they reckon he’s favourite, but he’ll do well to get by both Norris and Ricciardo with only 18 laps remaining.
Lap 34/53 Bottas is looking very swift down the straights – his set-up looks a better fit for the race than did Hamilton’s – and he’s about a second behind Perez. But quickly and quietly, Ricciardo still leads, 0.943 ahead of Norris.
Lap 33/53 Schumacher cuts up Vettel then collides with teammate Mazepin and that, I think is his afternoon done. Meantime, Perez is past Leclerc and into third, just over two seconds off the lead and less than one off second.
Lap 32/53 Norris is warned for going outside the track limits, but so doing helped him get the overtaking angle that he needed and he’ll absolutely take it.
Lap 31/53 Verstappen is, apparently, too angry to return to his team, but has just said “He doesn’t leave me any space”; something Hamilton might say was so at the first turn. In a way, it’s worked out well for Verstappen, who was trailing and whose driver championship lead looked likely to be cut. Anyhow, the safety car departs and Ricciardo leads from Leclerc from Norris from Perez. Norris attacks but Leclerc holds him off ... but not for long! Norris goes again, on the grass but still hitting Leclerc, and he sees him away! McLaren sit first and second!
Lap 30/53 Vettel pitted again under the safety car, he’s 13th now. But just as I think we’re able to breathe, we see the clash again, and it’s hard enough to decide whose fault it was that it probably wasn’t anyone’s. But gosh, that shot of Verstappen’s car on Hamilton’s head, crushing chassis as it goes, looks more and more terrifying every time you see it.
Lap 29/53 The incident will be investigated after the race but in commentary they think it was a racing incident and that looks fair enough to me. Ricky Hatton was fond of noting that “It’s not a tickling contest” and that applies here I think. It should also be noted that Verstappen didn’t hang around to see how Hamilton was, and this rivalry is on a rolling boil now. Where will it go next?
Lap 28/53 Hamilton closed the door on Verstappen – did he leave him enough room? – then Verstappen clipped Hamilton, his car ran right up the back of Hamiltons, his rear right wheel punkt on Hamilton’s helmet, and that is an unbelievably lucky escape for both drivers because that looked very very dangerous indeed.
Lap 27/53 The safety car comes out and Ricciardo leads, Leclerc second – he takes his pit behind the safety car, happy days – Norris is third, Perez fourth, Sainz fifth and Bottas sixth. Verstappen benefitted from a slightly slow pit from Mercedes so tried to get around Hamilton, but ran up the back of him and eesh!
Hamilton and Verstappen both crash out!
Lap 26/53 In comes Hamilton and he returns behind Norris! Verstappen is just behind and attacks, he shunts Hamilton I think, both cars run into the dirt, and oh my days! There’s your needle! What a season this is!
Updated
Lap 25/53 Hamilton still leads, and should be able to put some distance between himself and the rest; Norris pits and comes out in eighth, while Bottas is looking dangerous in sixth.
Lap 24/53 Verstappen pits but Red Bull totally botch it! Eleven seconds, a stationary stop, and out in 10th! What a mess! Ricciardo is set! But in the meantime, Hamilton passes Norris into the chicane and leads! how crucial will this lap be at the end of the season?!
Lap 23/53 Ricciardo comes in and that’s a useful change from McLaren! He comes out behind Sainz in seventh, and in commentary they reckon Red Bull’s strategy will be to do whatever McLaren don’t. The question, of course, is whether Verstappen has the pace to punish some fast laps – he’s not at all happy with the state of his tyres.
Lap 22/53 Pits are surely imminent, and Bottas cruising through the field adds a further factor into the mix. As I type that, he nails Stroll to go eighth, and will be fancying himself for a podium finish because he’s got the pace to overtake.
Lap 21/53 Ricciardo is told that his times are still as good as anyone’s, and Ocon learns that his clash with Vettel has earned him a five-second penalty.
Lap 20/53 Ricciardo says his rears are struggling, and his team tell him it’s the same for everyone. They’ve obviously settled on a strategy, but you can understand why the driver is a bit jumpy given what’s at stake here.
1 Ricciardo
2 Verstappen
3 Norris
4 Hamilton
5 Leclerc
6 Perez
7 Sainz
8 Stroll
9 Bottas
10 Alonso
11 Latifi
12 Ocon
13 Vettel
14 Russell
Lap 19/53 This has been pretty comfortable for Ricciardo so far – at no point since he overtook Verstappen has Verstappen looked likely to overtake him.
Lap 18/53 Ricciardo extends his lead a little – it’s now over a second, likewise Norris’ over Hamilton.
Lap 17/53 Bottas, who started at the back of the grid, is up to ninth now – decent effort. Ricciardo must be thinking about coming in now, but he’s doing so nicely out there that he’ll presumably want to longer as long as possible. The last time McLaren won a race was when Jenson Button got it done at Interlagos in 2012.
Lap 16/53 Given the 007 branding on Vettel’s Aston Martin I’m surprised there was no device extending from his tyres to chop up Ocon’s wheels. Anyhow, Ricciardo has stabilised his lead over the last bit, 0.718 in front.
Lap 15/53 Vettel and Ocon clash wheels and Vettel is not happy, at all. I don’t think Ocon left enough room and there might be a penalty for that.
Lap 14/53 Norris and Hamilton continue to struggle, thereby allowing Ricciardo and Verstappen to widen the gap. Ricciardo leads by 1.186, and Hamilton is 0.944 behind Norris.
Lap 13/53 Verstappen’s team reckon he go a fair bit faster ... if he can get by Ricciardo.
1 Ricciardo
2 Verstappen
3 Norris
4 Hamilton
5 Leclerc
6 Perez
7 Sainz Jr
8 Stroll
Lap 12/53 Hamilton closes on Norris! He’s got DRS but can’t get it done so goes again and Norris does really well to ease the door shut. He knows that Hamilton can’t afford to sacrifice the race trying to improve from fourth to third, so when Hamilton goes again he sees him off again.
Lap 11/53 It’s great to see a McLaren leading a race and Ricciardo is doing a really good maintaining things – he tells his team that his current speed is all he’s got. The lead is 0.938 now.
Lap 10/53 Hamilton is closer to Norris now, while Ricciardo leads Verstappen by 0.754. Hamilton, though, has tyres that’ll last much better, so will be hoping to make up the gap when Nozzer pits.
Lap 9/53 “Hamilton is struggling when he gets close,” Norris’ team tell him – the gap is a stable half a second or so – while Perez races past Sainz into sixth!
Lap 8/53 Giovinazi’s penalty is five seconds, and he’s currently last, more thna half a minute behind Mazepin in 17th.
Lap 7/53 Ricciardo leads by 0.910 from Verstappen and is looking decent, while Hamilton has DRS down the straight but can’t get close to Norris. Giovinazi is given a penalty for his re-entry, while Ricciardo has a warning coming.
Lap 6/53 Hamilton is lapping faster than Veratappen and Ricciardo, but he can’t do much with that until he gets by Norris who leads him by just over half a second.
Lap 5/53 Bottas is up to 13th, but Gasly, last year’s winner, is out, so both the AlphaTauris are gone. The stewards tell us that the tussle between Verstappen and Hamilton on the first corner requires no intervention.
Lap 4/53 We see Giovinazi being poked by Leclerc, who might have seen him coming back onto the track after nipping off. Ricciardo’s lead is down to half a second or so, with Norris 3.502 down and Hamilton 4.286.
Updated
Lap 3/53 Looking at the start again, Ricciardo just powered by Verstappen, who got away fine – he was just overtaken by a faster car. Ricciardo hasn’t led a race since 2018, his final go-around for Red Bull, but the lead is less than a second.
Lap 2/53 Virtual safety car ends, Giovinazi is in the pits having work done, and he struggles to get away, repeatedly flicking into anti-stall, but he’s back in the race now.
1 Ricciardo
2 Verstappen
3 Norris
4 Hamilton
5 Leclerc
6 Sainz
Here we go!
Lap 1/53 The lights go out fast and Ricciardo leads into the first chicane! Verstappen has his car angled right to try and head that off but he couldn’t and Hamilton is level with Verstappen! But Verstappen fights back, Hamilton slides off, returns in fourth, Giovinazzi spins off, there’ll be no safety car, Kubicka loses his front wing, there’s a virtual safety car, and it’s just another standard start!
Updated
Gasly will start from the pit lane, while Tsunoda remains there. It’s not looking great for the AlphaTauris (of this world).
The formation lap is away...
Hamilton is on hard compound tyres. That’s a big risk given the Mercedes’ starting issue, but perhaps they think first is out of reach but this’ll help him get second.
Son is enjoying the day.
Monza looks absolutely sensational today, my box room in north London less so.
Ah dear, Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri is being pushed off the track and towards, I imagine, the garage. Hopefully there’s nothing major wrong, but he’s only got four minutes to have them resolved.
Ricciardo is nicely relaxed, listening to tunes and clambering into his powder orange car. This is a huge afternoon for the Honey Badger, but he’s going to act like it’s just another day on the Scalextric.
Bolt shares a moment with Vin Diesel, who has bestowed upon him the rich reward of being hollered at by Sky’s reporter ... who then calls him “Son”. Goodness me.
Usain Bolt is trackside, and he lets us know that Hamilton is ready. He likes fast cars and Cristiano Ronaldo, he tells us. More news as I get it.
Updated
Lando Norris is a confident young man and he’s hoping for a podium today saying that the team are prepared for any eventuality.
There’s something so beautiful about the green on the Italian flag, which I’ve just learnt is called fern green (bright white and flame scarlet are itss neighbours).
We see some lovely drone shots of lovely Italy and a fly-past. In the stands, someone holds a red flare.
Here comes the Italian anthem!
Oooh yeah!
Updated
Also going on...
Eeeek!
Everton won't want to watch this Chelsea goal back!
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 12, 2021
Watch live on @BBCTwo and the @BBCSport app. #bbcfootball #efc #cfc #bbcwsl pic.twitter.com/vyYVYsZNzW
Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t been on the front row since 2018, and given he doesn’t exactly need points, we can be sure he’ll give the start everything, going for the win not a place.
Christian Horner isn’t too bothered by what Hamilton said about an easy win for his man Verstappen. On this circuit you want to get in front and settle in, so he’s wary of the McLarens’ acceleration, but will be delighted to be leading around the first corner.
Gasly seems to have a mechanical issue and though he was always scheduled to start from the pit lane, that’s a problem for him. Ah but all seems fine.
On telly, they reckon Hamilton will start on softs, but reiterate the need for better control of the starting thrust – not just a driver issue but a mechanical one.
George Russell’s brakes might be jiggered; he’s parked up on the side of the track waiting for assistance.
There’s something wrong with one of the AlphaTauri cars, around which folk are huddled in earnest manner.
The start is always huge, but it’ll be especially so today because with so few overtaking opportunities, reaction speed counts as a serious chance to make something happen. Hamilton’s been struggling with wheelspin, so his ability to control that – or not – will be a huge factor in the race.
The grid!
- Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Ricciardo (McLaren)
- Norris (McLaren)
- Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
- Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
- Pérez (Red Bull)
- Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Alonso (Alpine)
- Vettel (Aston Martin)
- Ocon (Alpine)
- Latifi (Williams)
- Russell (Williams)
- Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- Mazepin (Haas)
- Kubica (Alpha Romeo)
- Schumacher (Haas)
- Gasly (AlphaTauri)
- Bottas (Mercedes)
Preamble
Afternoon all and welcome to what should be a jazzer of an Italian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen leads the driver standings and is in pole, but if there’s one thing he and we’ve learnt, this season and over the years, it’s that Lewis Hamilton can win from anywhere.
That looks especially tricky this weekend – even Hamilton concedes that it should be “an easy win” for his rival. Still the few overtaking opportunities on the might give us more of the needle we crave, and if all else fails at least we’re guaranteed to hear Il Canto degli Italiani, the indisputable and feelgood song of the summer. Siiiiiiiiiiii!
Lights out: 3pm local, 2pm BST
Updated
