Italian Grand Prix – Daniel Ricciardo leads home McLaren one-two after Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crash

ByBen Snowball

Updated 12/09/2021 at 16:09 GMT

Italian Grand Prix, Monza – Top 10: 1. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 2. Lando Norris (McLaren), 3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 9. George Russell (Williams), 10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Daniel Ricciardo led home McLaren's first one-two in over a decade at the Italian Grand Prix as title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided and crashed out in an incident laced with controversy.

Lando Norris claimed second as the Woking-based outfit toasted their first victory since 2012, with Valtteri Bottas scooping a consolation podium for Mercedes.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and sixth for Ferrari respectively, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez sandwiched between them in fifth.

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Earlier, Hamilton had funnelled back onto the track after a pit stop and into an immediate battle with Verstappen on Lap 25, with neither yielding ground at the first corner as they came together. Verstappen's back wheel came to a rest on top of Hamilton's halo, providing another example of how crucial the protective shield can be.

Verstappen still extended his lead in the drivers’ championship over Hamilton to five points – 226.5 v 221.5 – by virtue of collecting two points in F1’s second ever sprint race on Saturday. Bottas is third, over 100 points adrift of the Dutchman.

Daniel Ricciardo celebrates on the podium

Image credit: Getty Images

What happened with Hamilton and Verstappen?

A compelling race at Monza looked set to pit Hamilton and Verstappen against each other only for the pair to be eliminated, with both drivers blaming the other for the incident.

Hamilton emerged out of the pit lane into P7 after a stop and went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen, who didn’t back down as he went around the outside of Turn One and into the chicane.

This resulted in Verstappen clipping the kerb as he went around the outside, and then the inside, flipping up on top of Hamilton’s car who had the Halo to thank for not suffering an injury.

Both drivers walked away from the incident with Hamilton suffering his first DNF in 63 race starts. Verstappen, meanwhile, has finished just two of the last five races.

Hamilton and Verstappen collide at Monza

Image credit: Getty Images

Driver of the day - Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)

Anyone not watching the race would be forgiven for reading the headline and thinking Ricciardo only won because the sport’s fastest drivers wiped each other out. But that’s not really fair.

The Australian had leapfrogged Verstappen off the start and maintained his advantage going into his only pit stop. When Verstappen pitted a lap later, the usually flawless Red Bull crew botched the stop and he was stationary for 11.1 seconds. Even without the collision, Ricciardo was firm favourite to win and the 32-year-old finished the job magnificently after the safety car pulled in.

Pit exchange of the day

Ricciardo's triumphant screams after crossing the line will live long in the memory:

Waaaaaaaaa! Yes! For anyone who thought I left, I never left. Thanks guys.

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