Italian Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc clinches second consecutive victory

Ferrari fans have found a new hero in Charles Leclerc. After securing pole position on Saturday, he fought tooth and nail throughout the race on Sunday to claim the victory at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc got away cleanly off the line but both Mercedes drivers were immediately all over him. He managed to squeeze Lewis Hamilton out before the first chicane but he had to defend throughout the next four corners before cleanly putting his car ahead of both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

His teammate, Sebastian Vettel, lost out to Renault's Nico Hulkenberg at the start and was unable to help Leclerc by pressuring the Mercedes drivers. Leclerc was left to fend for himself at the front of the pack when Vettel spun out on the 8th lap.

The German found himself on the grass and made things worse by impatiently rejoining the race in a dangerous manner. He entered the track straight into the racing pack and managed to clip Lance Stroll's car. He damaged his front wing and earned himself a 10 second stop-go penalty. This left him to languish in 15th position for most of the rest of the race.

Meanwhile, Leclerc had Lewis Hamilton breathing down his back. The gap between the two drivers never went beyond two seconds. The pressure fell on the laps of the Mercedes and Ferrari pit crews.

Both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted just before the halfway mark of the race, just enough to be able to do a one-stop strategy. However, Hamilton opted for the faster medium tyres, while Leclerc went for the sturdier hard tyres.

Hamilton closed the gap and attempted to overtake, but Leclerc pushed him out of the track. Leclerc received a warning for the move but wasn't penalised.

Bottas pitted much later and had the opportunity to catch Leclerc in the last few laps of the race. Hamilton made a mistake and ended up relinquishing 2nd position to his teammate. This gave Bottas some clear air to attack Leclerc. Eventually, Leclerc's hard tyres held up much better than the mediums on the Mercedes cars.

Leclerc crossed the finish line with the slimmest of margins but the Italian fans wouldn't have it any other way. The Tifosi spirit is incomparable and the track was visibly red this weekend. It was a magical victory for Ferrari, who last enjoyed a home victory back in 2010 courtesy of Fernando Alonso.

The only person at Ferrari who can't be happy with the result is Sebastian Vettel. He has now been overtaken by his new teammate in the championship race. Leclerc now has 182 points against Vettel's 169. Regardless of which one of them is in front however, Lewis Hamilton is still running away with a massive lead at the top with 284 points.