Italian F1 Grand Prix 2024 Results: Leclerc Wins; Hamilton, Verstappen Fail to Podium

Charles Leclerc took the checkered flag in the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on Sunday as Lando Norris continued to close the gap on Max Verstappen in the Formula One drivers' standings.

This is Leclerc's second victory of 2024 after he cruised to a win in the Monaco Grand Prix. He finished more than three seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri. Norris, who started from the pole, rounded out the podium in third place.

The excitement started early as Norris went from first to third on the first lap. Piastri overtook him for the lead and then Leclerc came up from behind to move into second.

Piastri and Norris decided to pit on the 17th lap, which opened the door for Carlos Sainz and Red Bull Racing teammates Verstappen and Sergio Pérez to fill out the top of the leaderboard.

A pit stop beckoned for those three as well sooner or later, though, and that bumped them down a few spots once they returned to the track.

Leclerc watched Piastri and Norris make a second trip to the pit and gambled he and his Ferrari team would only need one stop for the 53-lap affair.

The gambit paid off as the Monaco native built a sizable gap on the rest of the field. Piastri and Norris chipped away at the deficit down the final stretch but couldn't make up the ground.

Norris can at least take some solace from the fact he trimmed eight points from the difference between and Verstappen in the overall standings. The reigning champion is now 62 points up in first place.

For Norris and his McLaren team, though, there might be more disappointment they failed to take fuller advantage of Verstappen's sixth-place showing.

Elsewhere in the race, Lewis Hamilton missed the podium for the second straight week after placing fifth.

Eight races remain in Norris' quest to dethrone Verstappen with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sept. 15 the next event on the F1 calendar. The possibility remains for the 24-year-old to do the impossible, though his odds only improved slightly thanks to Sunday's results.