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F1 2019 | Ferrari's Charles Leclerc wins the 2019 Italian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes' Vatteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton

There were incredible scenes at the Italian Grand Prix as the home of the Ferrari embraced a new champion in Charles Leclerc following a chaotic race at Monza.

Andrew McMurtryAndrew McMurtry
@AndrewMcMurtry
less than 2 min read
September 8, 2019 - 9:05PM
Lewis Hamilton has warned drivers of the dangers of towing in qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton has warned drivers of the dangers of towing in qualifying.

With the F1 World still reeling after the death of Anthoine Hubert, safety has been at the foremost of drivers' minds with another stunning crash in F3 for Aussie Alexander Peroni.

After a weird qualifying campaign, there have even been warnings about danger in the qualifying sessions.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has been outstanding after his first win and will be in pole position alongside Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at Monza.

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'Mamma mia': Leclerc goes back to back

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has gone from pole position to his second straight victory, taking out the Italian Grand Prix with a tremendous race in the midst of incredible chaos on the rest of the track.

Led by his teammate Sebastian Vettel's remarkable brain snap, which cost him any chance of going close to winning with a ridiculous crash with Lance Stroll, Leclerc held off Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

There were crashes galore, three retirements and an incredible duel between himself and Hamilton.

While Hamilton didn't like everything he did, the victory was sweet for Leclerc, who won in Belgium last week after the death of his friend and F2 driver Anthoine Hubert.

Leclerc was pumped after the win.

"I've never been so tired," he said.

"I did a few mistakes but in the end I finished first. Very happy with this but I need to be careful with the mistakes but none of them made me lose position today."

The 21-year-old was

Valtteri Bottas said

"I think we had a good strategy with me and a good go in the first stint opened up some opportunities but I'm gutted, I tried everything I could to get past him," Bottas said.

Hamilton said Leclerc did a great job but it seemed like he had more to tell the Monegasque off camera.

The Renault's of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were fourth and fifth as well, a season best for the pair.

Hamilton blinks after 'incredible' carnage

Charles Leclerc has locked up at the first chicane and went straight through, holding onto the lead.

But no investigation was necessary again.

"He'll have some fairly big tyre vibrations now, that was a big lock-up," Sky Sports' Martin Brundle said.

"A little bit naughty there to retain the lead by scampering across the chicane. But he'll just about get away with it I think."

And he did.

"There's some dangerous driving going on," Hamilton said over the radio.

Croft added: "He doesn't like the way Leclerc is driving."

But the fans are loving it.

But after a crazy duel, Hamilton was the first to blink as Valtteri Bottas took over to chase Leclerc.

Kvyat gone too

Daniil Kvyat has retired as well with the Toro Rosso car smoking straight after he pitted.

After 31 laps, it has been absolute chaos at Monza.

Sainz forced to retire

After a crazy race so far, McLaren's Carlos Sainz was forced to retire after having a loose wheel.

After 30 laps, it seems to be Leclerc Vs Hamilton for the win as they sit close.

Daniel Ricciardo is still in fourth with Hulkenberg in sixth as Renault bat above their weight in Monza.

'Pushed me off': Hamilton blows up

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are locked in a brilliant battle at Monza.

It led to a huge moment on lap 23 when Hamilton was forced wide.

"He didn't leave me a whole car's length there, he pushed me off," Hamilton said.

The pro-Ferrari crowd seemed to see Leclerc get a favourable ruling from the officials with a black and white flag, basically a warning.

'Idiot': Star explodes at Vettel chaos

The start of the Italian Grand Prix seemed pretty uneventful until Renault's Nico Hulkenberg went past Sebastian Vettel, until the first straight when Vettel took back his position.

But after six laps, Vettel spun out, but in a ridiculous move, he came back on the track, clipping Racing Point's Lance Stroll.

The commentators said they couldn't disagree with Stroll's assessment.

"He just came back on the circuit like an idiot," Stroll said on team radio.

Vettel was handed 10-second stop-and-go penalty for returning to the track dangerously.

"Vettel's day has gone from bad, to worse, to horrible," David Croft said.

But Stroll did the same thing to Pierre Gasly, pushing the Toro Rosso off the track into the gravel.

He copped a drive-through penalty.

Stewards are looking into both incidents.

But the bad weekend of Red Bull's Max Verstappen has continued after Verstappen hit Racing Point's Sergio Perez and needed to replace his front wing.

It was already an uphill battle for Verstappen starting from 19th on the grid and is now at the very back.

Alex Albon was then squeezed off the road by Carlos Sainz as the pair had an early battle.

While the wheels came together, and pushed Albon off the track, the stewards didn't have an issue with it.

Haas' Romain Grosjean also lost his traction as well and dropped to last after the issue – until Vettel took his penalty.

Kimi Raikkonen is the latest driver to be handed a penalty – and it's a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, the same as Vettel, for starting the race on the wrong tires.

That's for starting the race on incorrect tyres.

Italian Grand Prix Starting Grid

1 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

3 – Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) – Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)

4 – Carlos Sainz (McLaren) – Alexander Albon (Red Bull)

5 – Lance Stroll (Racing Point) – Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)

6 – Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)

7 – Romain Grosjean (Haas) – George Russell (Williams)

8 – Robert Kubica (Williams) – Lando Norris (McLaren)

9 – Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) – Sergio Perez (Racing Point)

10 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Pit lane – Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)

F1 'absurdity' a dangerous game

Aussie Daniel Ricciardo qualified for the Italian Grand Prix in fifth but a bizarre go-slow left F1 commentators and pundits scratching their heads at Monza.

It was an interrupted qualifying after Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen crashed out in Q3 without a time, which saw all drivers sitting in the garage until two minutes were remaining before all the drivers inexplicably went slow and missed out on a final flying lap.

As most teams tried to use their teammates to tow each other out, only McLaren's Carlos Sainz was able to complete his final lap as everyone else missed out.

Mercedes team principle Toto Wolff slammed the bizarre session.

“For the fans that were present, we lost a climax, the last qualifying lap,” Wolff said. “But at the end of the day, none of us have ever seen such an absurdity.

“These things can happen, in a way it is also a chess game on obtaining the best grid position.

“But at a certain stage it escalated, starting at Spa, and then we could see it in F3 yesterday, those games cutting the chicane and reducing the speeds to minimum level. It became disproportionate. 

“What we saw today is the consequence of all cars missing the last lap. It’s just a shame for Formula 1. It doesn’t do any of the teams and the drivers any good.”

Three drivers – Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz – were reprimanded but no driver copped any grid penalties.

Drivers Championship leader Lewis Hamilton said it's a dangerous game the teams played at Monza.

“I’m sure it’s going to continue. Positioning is key," Hamilton said.

“If we were to… everyone going out as late as we just did there, for example, with two minutes to go, it’s going to continue to be an issue in places where you particularly need a tow.

“It won’t be until someone crashes that they’ll change it, most likely.”

Stewards have urged the FIA to change the rules to not have a repeat of the shambolic events.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/motorsport/formula-one/f1-italian-grand-prix-2019-live-qualifying-absurdity-will-lead-to-crashes-according-to-lewis-hamilton/live-coverage/64d2d36e1cf2b1d06cbc640079ba6035