Fernando Alonso insisted that Aston Martin are "doing something really wrong" after missing out on the top 10 at Monza despite Kevin Magnussen's penalty. 

Alonso, who ended up outside the points for only the sixth time this season at the Italian Grand Prix, finished less than two tenths of a second behind the Dane's Haas. 

Magnussen was handed a 10-second penalty after a collision with Alpine's Pierre Gasly, with the Spaniard and Williams' Alex Albon chasing hard to get within that margin.

However, Alonso's two-stop strategy saw him playing catch up after being jumped by the one-stopping Albon, with the 28-year-old finishing the race in ninth. 

Alonso has scored in the past two races, while Aston Martin look assured of fifth in the constructors’ standings this season, being 40 points ahead of RB.

But Alonso couldn’t hide his frustration after the race at battling with cars lower down the field, having been fighting at the top end of the grid only 12 months ago.

“I hope we understand things that we are doing wrong, as definitely we are doing something really wrong and we get better for Baku,” Alonso said.

Alonso's team-mate, Lance Stroll, propped up the field after taking a third pit stop in an optimistic bid to deny anyone in the top 10 the fastest lap bonus point.

But their attention will now turn to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and should both Aston Martin's drivers score at least 14 points in Baku, they will become the 14th team to reach the 500-point mark in the history of Formula 1 (currently 486), also equalling Toro Rosso's record (500). 

After Aston Martin's recent struggles, both Alonso and Stroll have hope that the team can entice former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey to the team after emerging as one of the front runners to claim his signature in recent weeks.

Fred Vasseur has predicted a "huge fight" for the constructors' title this season after Ferrari's success at the Italian Grand Prix last week. 

Charles Leclerc led McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Monza, claiming his second victory of the season and the team's second win on home soil in the last six years. 

Leclerc has now already scored 11 more points than in the entire previous season (206), and closed the gap to second-placed Norris in the drivers' championship to 24 points. 

Having also secured a long-awaited triumph in Monaco in May, Vasseur believes Leclerc's win in Monza was among his best experiences as Ferrari team principal. 

“For Ferrari and for Charles to win in Monaco, to win in Monza – I think it’s probably, with Imola, the two or three that you want to take in the season," Vasseur said.

"But, at the end of the day, you are not scoring more points in Monza than in Baku.

“Mathematically speaking it’s a win, emotionally speaking for sure it’s something very important because we have a huge support from the beginning of the week from the Tifosi, starting on Monday at the factory in Maranello.

“We had already lots of people in front of the entrance, and the best way to pay them back is to win.

"But it’s not easy, it’s not always under our control, but for sure for the team it was a good way to pay them back for their support.”

With eight races remaining, Ferrari are now only 39 points away from Red Bull at the head of the constructors’ standings ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix next week. 

But Baku has proved a difficult track to navigate for the Italian team in recent years, with Ferrari having taken the most pole positions without ever winning the race (four with Sebastian Vettel in 2018, and Leclerc from 2021 to 2023).

Should Leclerc achieve pole position, it will be the best pole streak for a Ferrari driver in a Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher in Spain from 2000 to 2004 (five).

However, in terms of his expectations for the remainder of the campaign, Vasseur believes that the team will be part of a “huge fight” given how close the pack is.

“I think it would be a huge mistake to try to draw any conclusions or to change the plan [after winning at Monza],” Vasseur said. 

“There is a very long way to go until Abu Dhabi, there is something like 450 points on the table.

“It’s so tight, the fight – honestly, I spent a couple of years on the pit wall but it’s the first time I think in F1 we have this situation where eight drivers can win the race, without an accident or crash.

"Four teams are able to win or be on the podium, and it’s changing from session to session.

“For me the most impressive was probably Spa where you had a McLaren in FP1, Red Bull in FP2, we started from pole and Mercedes won the race, and we have the feeling that it is almost like this everywhere, except Lando dominating last weekend in Zandvoort.

“But you can expect that, I think until the end of the season, it will be like this, that it will be a huge fight, and it’s true that with eight cars with this kind of competitiveness that one team can do a one-two and also a seven-eight.

"I don’t want to speak about DNF, but this can make a huge difference in terms of points. Let’s be focused on Baku first. Step by step we will see.”

Zak Brown insisted that McLaren's papaya rules were made to be bent after Monza reignited the debate over whether team orders are needed at the British-based team.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claimed second and third behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the latter enduring another poor start after securing pole in qualifying. 

The Australian was able to make his way past his McLaren team-mate heading into Turn 4, with Piastri ultimately able to finish ahead of Norris at the end of the race.

However, McLaren recorded their fourth-best ever run of having one or both drivers on the podium (12), while also closing the gap in the constructors' championship. 

The gap to Red Bull now stands at eight points ahead of Baku in two weeks, with Norris also closing the gap to Max Verstappen to 62 points in the drivers' championship.

But in allowing their drivers to fight, McLaren opened the door for Ferrari to pounce, but Brown defended Piastri's move on his team-mate in the opening exchanges. 

“It was aggressive, it was an aggressive move [by Piastri],” Brown told Sky Sports F1 after the race.

“Their start was great and that was what we had discussed, kind of get behind the other and fan out to make sure nobody else could get by.

“I think Lando was caught by surprise with that move, thinking let’s just tuck into a one-two and see if we can pull a bit of a gap, so it’s something we’ll discuss internally.

“Papaya rules are it’s your team mate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch, that happened.

"It was an aggressive pass so that’s a conversation we’ll have, that was a bit nerve wracking on pit wall but it’s really just respect your team mate.

"Lando got a bad run out of that corner as well so it would have been nice to see them run one-two a bit longer.

"They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive pass but a clean pass.”

Despite McLaren's recent success, Ferrari's triumph at their home race has brought them back into contention for the constructors' championship and are just 31 points further back. 

The British-based team have failed to win the title since 1998 when Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard worked together to deliver their eighth constructors' title. 

However, Brown remained firm in his assessment that McLaren would not prioritise one driver over the other for the remaining eight races of the season. 

“They are both young drivers who want to win. We have always believed in having two number ones," Brown said. 

"That’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage – we’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.

“They get along great, they do race each other clean and it’s philosophical – are you a one-car team or a two-car team?

"The easiest thing would have been for Lando to just run away with it, and then not have to put difficult decisions on the pit wall, but Andrea and I are taking it one race at a time.”

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after being hit with a one-race ban due to exceeding the permitted number of penalty points in a year. 

Magnussen, who finished 10th to secure the American-based team's first points since Silverstone, was involved in an incident with Alpine's Pierre Gasly. 

The Dane attempted to overtake Gasly down the inside of Turn 4, but locked up and subsequently made contact with the Frenchman, who ended up finishing in 15th. 

In their verdict, the stewards felt that Magnussen was “wholly to blame for” this, having deemed that he did not drive in a “safe and controlled manner through the manoeuvre”.

Stating a breach of Article 4.2 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, the note reads: “The Super Licence of the driver of Car 20 is suspended for the next Competition of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship. Following this suspension, 12 penalty points will be removed.”

Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was handed a 10-second time penalty for a coming together with the RB of Yuki Tsunoda. 

The last driver to receive a race ban was Romain Grosjean back in 2012, when he was racing for Lotus, after he caused a multi-car crash at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix that season.

Lando Norris was left disappointed by Oscar Piastri's driving after the McLaren duo almost collided at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Norris claimed pole position once more in Monza but was overtaken on the first lap by Piastri, snatching the inside line at Turn 4.

The McLaren pair subsequently finished behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, though Piastri's racing tactics were questioned by Norris after the conclusion on Sky Sports.

"I feel he got way too close for comfort," Norris said. "We could both have easily been out in that first corner if I broke one metre later.

"If I could rewind, I would do stuff slightly differently. But it is what it is. Charles won by two seconds in the end and the fact he got ahead probably gained him two seconds over the course of the race.

"We couldn't achieve a one-stop as our degradation was too high on the front tyres. That is a weakness for us at the minute."

Having failed to close the gap on Leclerc, Piastri finished second and a place ahead of Norris, with the trio sitting together at the post-race drivers' press conference.

When pressed on his earlier criticism of Piastri, Norris attempted to explain his warning, though conceded the difficulties in making split-second decisions.

"Just brake a bit later, simple as that. But sometimes it's easier said than done," Norris said.

"Oscar obviously braked on the limit and gave me space, there was just about enough. I did my best to avoid anything else happening at the time.

"At the same time, If I brake two metres later, you don't know and you can't predict, but it could easily have been a crash. It's a tough one. The easiest thing is just to brake way later and force him off, and kind of treat it like no one else.

"I obviously took it easy. I saw we had a massive gap behind, so maybe I was just a bit too much on the cautious side and paid the price."

Australia's Piastri, however, saw the incident somewhat differently.

"I broke later and got around the outside," Piastri said. "There wasn't really much more to it than that.

"We both got through it unscathed. I knew once I hit the brakes I kind of got ahead a bit and knew I was entitled to stay on the outside.

"For 38 laps, it put me in a race-winning position. So it was just a good first lap."

Charles Leclerc was able to savour a "special" double on Sunday, triumphing at the Italian Grand Prix to ensure he won both of his favourite races in the same season.  

Leclerc edged out McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris for a spectacular win at Monza, racing from fourth on the grid to repeat his 2019 triumph at the venue.

Only Michael Schumacher (five) has won the Italian Grand Prix while driving for Ferrari on more occasions, with Leclerc's second victory drawing him level with Rubens Barrichello, Phil Hill, Alberto Ascari and Clay Regazzoni.

Sunday's win came after Leclerc claimed a home victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in May, ensuring 2024 will be a season that lives long in the memory for the Scuderia driver.

"It is an incredible feeling," he said after the podium celebrations.

"I thought the second time, if there was a second time, would not feel as special as the first, but the emotions over the last few laps were the same as in 2019.

"I want to win Monza and Monaco every year and I have managed to do so. It is so, so special."

Sitting third in the drivers' championship standings, Leclerc now has a 20-point lead over fourth-placed Piastri and is just 23 points adrift of Norris, who has been tipped to push Max Verstappen for the title.

Asked if Ferrari can continue to battle for victories in the closing stages of the season, he said: "I don't know.

"Our package was working well on a track like Monza but whether it will be the same for the rest of the season, I doubt it.

"I still think McLaren are favourites but we have done a step forwards, that's for sure. Baku is a pretty nice track for me, so maybe we can achieve something special there."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he and Max Verstappen have agreed to keep communications open with a view to a potential blockbuster move in the future.

Verstappen has emerged as the dominant force in Formula One since beating Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to his first drivers' championship title in 2021, winning two further crowns and leading Lando Norris in the standings this year.

However, the Dutchman has repeatedly cast doubt upon his long-term future with Red Bull, suggesting ahead of last week's Dutch Grand Prix that he was more than halfway through his F1 career.

When Hamilton confirmed he would join Ferrari for 2025 in January, Mercedes were strongly linked with a move for Verstappen amid a turbulent time for Red Bull.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner was accused – and later cleared – of sexual harassment and coercive behaviour by a female team employee, with his relationship with Verstappen reportedly becoming strained.

Wolff admits there was a moment where the deal seemed possible, though Mercedes are now expected to confirm Andrea Kimi Antonelli as George Russell's team-mate for 2025.

"Red Bull was the dominant car at the beginning of the season," Wolff told BBC Sport. "And that changed a bit. It's Max Verstappen dominant at the moment.

"And the relationships were dysfunctional. I'm not sure they are back in a great place, but it is what it is. 

"There was a moment, or there was an opportunity, to at least have conversations of what it could be in the future, and this is what we did."

Asked if Verstappen could join the Silver Arrows for 2026, when wide-ranging regulation changes take effect, Wolff responded: "Much too early. 

"For the benefit of our drivers next year, I don't want to have any conversations about 2026 or beyond, because we very much hope that the 2025 lineup will be the lineup going forward.

"We have not given each other any, let's say, timings.

"It is more like, keep the communication channel open, while knowing that his priority is to make it function with Red Bull and our priority will be to make it function with the two drivers we have."

Lewis Hamilton believes Kimi Antonelli is his perfect replacement at Mercedes ahead of his move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season. 

Hamilton, who has the equal most wins at Monza alongside Michael Schumacher (five), will race for Mercedes for the final time around the iconic track on Sunday. 

But there have been consistent rumours of who will replace him on the grid for the Silver Arrows next season, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen even touted for a shock move. 

However, it appears 18-year-old Antonelli, who has risen through the Mercedes junior programme, will be given the nod to join George Russell next year. 

The Italian will replace Russell in the first practice session on Friday, and Hamilton is excited to see how he deals with the step up from Formula Two. 

"I said a long time ago that I think that is who the team should choose moving forwards," Hamilton said. "Obviously, time will tell what they end up deciding to do. 

"He is one of those young super talented kids that has come through. He's only 18, but I think it will be good for people to know that he has only just turned 18. 

"He's got a bright future ahead of him and I am really excited to see his progress. 

Antonelli's impending move to Mercedes showcases the Silver Arrows' plan for the future, but his showings in F2 this season suggest there is an element of risk involved. 

He currently sits seventh in the standings, but has won twice in recent weeks at Silverstone and the Hungaroring that showcases he has the ability to make the step up. 

And Hamilton is confident that Antonelli will flourish under the guidance of the team that have helped him win six of his seven world championship titles.

"We have been watching him through the different formulas and naturally he is a Mercedes driver. We are starting to see a lot of young drivers coming through and we are in that time now where there are only 20 seats and we are starting to see this new wave come through.

"In terms of taking on another driver that has had many years of experience as opposed of giving an opportunity to a youngster, that is what McLaren did for me and it worked out well. 

"In my opinion, it's an opportunity for him to grow. He's going to get to work with the best in class and the people that I have worked with for so many years. 

"It is a lot of weight on someone's shoulders, but I think it's a great environment that they will be able to nurture him and carry him through."

This weekend will also mark Hamilton's final race in Italy before his move to Ferrari.

The Briton will be replacing the outgoing Carlos Sainz, who has since joined Williams, lining up alongside Charles Leclerc for the 2025 campaign. 

"I don't know, it definitely does feel a little bit different," Hamilton said. "I mean, it always feels special when you come here. There's always such incredible passion throughout Italy, just in general, but particularly about racing. 

"It's always exciting to see the fans at the end of the weekend, it's a passionate event, and the excitement that they bring to this race is really not particularly matched in any way."

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris - McLaren 

After securing his second career win in F1, Lando Norris will be looking to chase down Verstappen at the top of the drivers' championship standings in Monza. 

Norris has the chance to win two races in a row after his victory in the Netherlands and should he succeed, he will be the first McLaren driver to do so since Lewis Hamilton in 2010, in Turkey and Canada.

The race this weekend will also mark the Britons' 120th for McLaren, becoming the 13th driver to reach this milestone with a single team in history, but the first to do so with 100% of his Grand Prix career in the competition. 

Norris would also become the first McLaren driver to achieve three wins in a single season for the first time since 2012, a year that both Jenson Button (three) and Hamilton (four) managed to do so. 

But McLaren will also be looking to make up ground in the constructors' championship. They have had one or both of their drivers on the podium in each of the last 11 Formula 1 races.

Should they repeat in Italy, it will be their fourth best-ever run in the competition (12) behind only the 19 between Australia 2007 and Malaysia 2008, and the 13 twice between the United States and Portugal in 1990, and Germany 2011 and China 2012.

Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

Having gone five races without a podium finish since his historic win at Monaco back in May, Ferrari's Leclerc has seemingly found his groove again for the Italian team. 

Leclerc has produced back-to-back podium finishes in Zandvoort and Spa, but in that time, has relinquished second place in the drivers' championship to Norris. 

Still only 33 points behind the McLaren driver, Leclerc has the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings in Ferrari's home race. 

He can beat his score from last season if he finishes on the podium in Italy (192 in 2024 currently compared to 206 in 2023). Leclerc also has his second best points average (12.8), after his 14 points average in 2022.

Ferrari have 19 wins at the Italian Grand Prix. If they repeat in this edition, it will be the second time a team have achieved 20 wins in a single Grand Prix after themselves in Germany (21), although they have not won at Monza since 2019, with Leclerc starting from pole position. 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 295

Lando Norris (McLaren) - 225

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 192

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 179

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 172

Constructors

Red Bull - 434

McLaren - 404

Ferrari - 370

Mercedes - 276

Aston Martin - 74

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz beat Max Verstappen to top spot in final practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

Sainz’s lap in the closing moments of the one-hour running in Monza drew a huge roar from the tifosi, providing the Ferrari faithful with hope a scarlet car might secure pole position at the team’s home event.

Sainz, who was also quickest in Friday’s second running, saw off Verstappen by 0.086 seconds. Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes.

Charles Leclerc made a mistake on his speediest lap and had to settle for fourth, half-a-second slower than team-mate Sainz.

Verstappen is bidding to become the first driver to win 10 consecutive races, but Ferrari appear to have a car capable of denying the Dutchman pole.

For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion will be pleased to be back at the sharp end of the pack after he finished 17th in practice on Friday.

However, the British driver was still 0.541 seconds back from Sainz, with team-mate George Russell sixth. Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Aston Martin, with Sergio Perez 10th and McLaren’s Lando Norris 17th.

Qualifying for the 14th round of the season takes place at 4pm (3pm BST).

Lewis Hamilton finished only 17th in practice for the Italian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez crashed out.

Carlos Sainz provided Ferrari’s home fans with reason for cheer by posting the fastest time at the Italian team’s home track in Monza.

The Spaniard, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday, edged out McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.019 seconds with championship leader Max Verstappen in fifth place, two tenths back.

But seven-time world champion Hamilton, who signed a new £50million-a-year contract with Mercedes earlier this week, ended up only 17th of the 19 drivers who set a time after bemoaning the lack of straight-line speed.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished ninth, 0.821sec slower than Sainz.

While Verstappen has romped to 11 wins from 13 this season – and could become the first driver in history to seal 10 consecutive victories on Sunday – his team-mate Perez has endured a turbulent campaign.

And the Mexican faced more misery here after he lost control of his Red Bull machine through the high-speed Parabolica.

Perez ran on to the gravel on the exit of the corner leading into the main straight and skidded across the sandtrap before nudging the wall.

Perez was able to limp back to the pits but team principal Christian Horner was left grimacing on the Red Bull pit wall.

Before his spin, Perez had displayed encouraging pace – finishing third, 0.185 behind Sainz – and unusually ahead of Verstappen.

Verstappen, 138 points clear in the world standings on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles, ended the opening running at the top of the time charts. But his best effort in the day’s concluding running was scuppered by traffic.

The 25-year-old wanted to go for another timed lap, only for his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to tell him “it isn’t qualifying”.

The Dutch driver was also fined 500 euros (£428) for breaking the 50mph pit-lane speed limit by 3mph.

However, given his crushing dominance this year, he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the favourite to land another win and better the record he shares with Sebastian Vettel.

McLaren have bounced back from a poor start to the year following an upgrade at June’s Austrian Grand Prix. Behind Norris in second place, Oscar Piastri finished fourth.

Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc, who won here to the delight of the Tifosi in 2019, was sixth, one place ahead of the ever-impressive Alex Albon in his Williams, with Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin.

Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll failed to set a lap after he broke down with a fuel system failure in the opening moments.

Williams driver Alex Albon suffered complications following surgery for appendicitis that led to respiratory failure and intensive care, but he is expected to return home on Tuesday.

It was announced on Saturday that Albon would not race in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza having been transferred to hospital, with Nyck de Vries deputising in his place and finishing ninth to secure points in his first ever F1 race.

Albon is expected to return to for the next round of racing in Singapore, but a statement issued by Williams on Monday detailed complications that arose after the 26-year-old's surgery.

"Further to Alex Albon's diagnosis of appendicitis on the morning of Saturday 10 September, he was admitted to San Gerardo hospital for treatment. He underwent a successful laparoscopic surgery on Saturday lunchtime," the statement said.

"Following surgery, Alex suffered with unexpected post-operative anaesthetic complications which led to respiratory failure, a known but uncommon complication. He was re-intubated and transferred to intensive care for support.

"He made excellent progress overnight and was able to be removed from mechanical ventilation yesterday morning. He has now been transferred to a general ward and is expected to return home tomorrow. There were no other complications.

"Alex's full focus is on recovery and preparation ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix later this month."

Formula One world champion Max Verstappen shrugged off the jeers and boos he received after triumphing at the Italian Grand Prix.

Verstappen won behind a safety car on Sunday, having capitalised on Ferrari's questionable tactics, which left Charles Leclerc having to settle for second place on the team's home race.

The victory moves Verstappen – who had never won at Monza – 116 points clear of Leclerc in the driver standings, with Red Bull also safely at the summit of the constructor table.

Yet after celebrating an 11th win of the season, Verstappen had to contend with jeers from the stands during his post-race interview.

"It happens, everyone speaks to me about it with the booing and stuff but at the end of the day I am here to try and win the race which we've done," Verstappen subsequently told reporters.

"Some people of course they cannot appreciate that because they are very passionate fans for a different team. It is what it is.

"It is not going to spoil my day, I am just enjoying the moment."

Leclerc, however, was disappointed, telling reporters: "Nobody likes booing and I think it shouldn't happen. That's it."

Verstappen, who had to overcome a grid penalty to seal his maiden Monza success, has won the last five races and the Dutchman could wrap up his second world title when F1 returns in Singapore in October.

Charles Leclerc expressed his frustration at finishing under the safety car as Ferrari's hopes of a home success at the Italian Grand Prix were shattered by Max Verstappen.

Leclerc began on pole for the eighth time this season after a strong qualifying performance on Saturday, but was subjected to a familiar sinking feeling at Monza as Verstappen brushed aside his pre-race five-place grid penalty.

The defending world champion – who could now seal successive titles at Singapore next time out – took advantage of another Scuderia gamble to power home, as Ferrari subjected Leclerc to an early change of tyres.

A late safety car brought on by Daniel Ricciardo's retirement then left Leclerc to sit behind Verstappen as the chequered flag approached, much to the frustrations of a partisan crowd in Italy.

The Monegasque driver made his frustrations clear over team radio as he awaited a restart which never came, shouting: "Come on! It's clear," and was still agitated after the race.

"The end was frustrating. I wish we could have ended up racing. It's a shame," he told Sky Sports.

"I gave my all, but we got P2 today. I wish I could've won in front of the amazing Tifosi we have here, I just couldn't today."

Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner also believed the race should have been allowed to restart, telling Sky Sports: "We don't want to win a race under a safety car.

"That's something that we've talked about for many, many years, that they should finish racing. There was enough time to get that race going."

Verstappen now boasts a 116-point lead over Leclerc in the drivers' championship standings, while Ferrari trail Red Bull by 139 points in the team rankings, with a series of high-profile mistakes from the Scuderia costing them dearly this campaign.

But Leclerc refused to hit out at the team's strategy when discussing his early pit stop, adding: "We didn't know what they [Red Bull] were going to do behind so we took that choice. 

"Obviously we finished P2, so I'm not happy with the race. We will work on that.

"I don't know, the pace was strong. We will have to look into it, but I think we were quite strong. It just wasn't enough."

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a "fun" Italian Grand Prix after securing an impressive points finish, while Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made a pointed jab over the race's safety car finale.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton started at the back of the grid after taking new parts but drove a fine race to secure a fifth-placed finish, as Max Verstappen secured a maiden Monza win.

The podium always looked a long shot for Hamilton, but he still recovered points and actually found a less trying race weekend something to relish.

"It was a good race," Hamilton stated. "The guys were saying that anything between sixth and fourth was possible, and that felt a stretch for me. But I had fun.

"I struggled at the beginning, but I'm really, really grateful that I made my way through and got those points. I think at the end, the two cars behind had fresher tyres, so I'm kind of glad it finished like it did."

The late mechanical failure of Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren meant the race finished behind the safety car.

Hamilton was not in contention this time, but he lost last season's title decider in similar circumstances when then race director Michael Masi ended the safety car early on that occasion and saw Verstappen pass his title rival at the last.

Apparently referring to that incident, Wolff said: "The race directors are always going to be under criticism, but I think this time they followed the rules – maybe they could have done it a lap sooner – and they accepted the race ends under the safety car. This is how it should be."

With a 35-point deficit to Ferrari now for second in the constructors' championship, Wolff has a clear target in his sights ahead of the end of a difficult campaign.

"It's all to play against Ferrari; we just need to do the best every single weekend," he added. "It would [soften the blow] of this year's car a bit."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was frustrated by the decision to end the Italian Grand Prix under a safety car.

A late breakdown for Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren meant any chance for late drama was dashed at Monza, as Red Bull's Verstappen sealed his fifth successive victory.

Verstappen is now 116 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in the driver standings, and seems all set to wrap up a second straight world title when Formula One returns in October.

Yet Horner was not satisfied with how the race ended, believing it could have been finished properly.

"We don't want to win a race under a safety car," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "It's something we've talked about for many, many years, that they should finish racing. 

"There was enough time to get that race going. We had the faster car, we would have liked to win the race on the track, not behind the safety car. We share the disappointment of all the fans, because it took away a grandstand finish.

"It goes against the principles of what we've discussed previously. The biggest losers were the fans. We need to look quickly to address that.

"I think they had more than enough time to get going. We need to go through details, but for me there was enough time, we had a car that wasn't in a barrier, it was just by the side of the track."

Leclerc had been attempting to close the gap on Verstappen, having been cost by another questionable decision by Ferrari on their home track.

Starting in pole, Leclerc found himself behind the Dutchman when Ferrari elected to switch him onto long-distance medium tyres early on.

It allowed Verstappen, who started with a five-place grid penalty on Sunday, to cruise to an 11th win of the season, albeit his maiden success at Monza.

"We had a great race," Verstappen said. "On every compound we were good. Unfortunately we didn't get a restart at the end but overall we had a really good day.

"It was really enjoyable to drive today. A great day for us. It took a bit of time to be on a great podium like this."