Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins 2018 Italian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton secured a surprising victory in the 14th race of the 2018 Formula 1 season, the Italian Grand Prix, to extend his championship lead.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton earned his sixth victory of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season in the season’s 14th race, the Italian Grand Prix, at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The win is the 68th of his Formula 1 career.

Hamilton, who started in third place, won the 53-lap race around the 11-turn, 3.600-mile (5.793-kilometer) Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy by 8.705 seconds over second place finisher Kimi Raikkonen of Scuderia Ferrari. Raikkonen started the race from the pole position before going on to secure his 100th career podium finish.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium by finishing in third place. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Verstappen finished the race in third, but he was relegated to fifth as a result of the fact that he was issued a five-second penalty for avoidable contact with Bottas toward the end of the race.

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The race featured a total of four lead changes among three drivers. Aside of Hamilton, who led 18 laps, two drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Raikkonen and Bottas. Raikkonen led more laps than anybody else in the field with 28 laps led.

The start of the race changed its entire complexion. Heading into turn four, Raikkonen led the race with Vettel in second place and Hamilton in third. Hamilton tried to pass Vettel on the outside and Vettel spun out trying to defend the position.

Raikkonen, who led much of the first half of the race, came into the pits before Hamilton and Bottas did. Hamilton came into the pits and fell behind both drivers, but Bottas was able to hold up Raikkonen so that Hamilton was right behind him and in a position to take the lead. With nine laps to go, Hamilton took the lead and never looked back.

Of the 20 drivers who started the race, 17 finished it, with nine doing so on the lead lap. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley were the three drivers who were forced to retired from the race. Ricciardo and Alonso were forced to retire with mechanical issues while Hartley was forced to retire following a crash on the first lap that was separate from the incident involving Hamilton and Vettel.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

The next race on the 2018 Formula 1 schedule is the Singapore Grand Prix. That race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 16, and it is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 8:10 a.m. ET from Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore.