Max Verstappen's coronation as Formula One world champion is imminent and could be marked as early as Singapore.

On the back of five victories in a row, Verstappen has opened a whopping 116-point gap at the top of the standings with six races remaining in 2022.

Verstappen will be crowned as champion if he wins under the lights in Singapore alongside clinching the fastest lap but would need Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to finish eighth or lower and team-mate Sergio Perez to finish fourth or lower.

Given the sequence of requirements for Verstappen to win on Sunday, the following week's race in Japan stands as the most likely to see the Red Bull ace secure his title, but individual records are also up for grabs.

A victory would also mark Verstappen's 12th of the season, putting him behind only Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel (both 13) for the most wins in a single season.

Qualifying will likely be vital to any hopes of another Verstappen win, with 66.7 per cent of race winners in Singapore starting from pole - Vettel being the last to win in 2019 when not starting from the front.

Mathematically, three drivers are still able to usurp Verstappen from his throne, George Russell also within distance alongside Leclerc and Perez, but the dominance of Red Bull this season makes any late turnover nigh-on impossible.

Hamilton's history

With six races remaining in 2022, Lewis Hamilton is without a victory this season and it could see the British driver fail to win a race in a campaign for the first time.

Mercedes have strong history in Singapore, however, securing more wins at the circuit than any other team (four), though Red Bull and Ferrari (both three) could equal that tally this weekend.

Spare seats

Alfa Romeo's new deal for Zhou Guanyu leaves three remaining seats on the grid for 2023, with Williams, Haas and Alpine yet to fill their quota for next year.

Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo are the two on the grid that could be on the move, with Ricciardo set to leave McLaren and Gasly heavily linked with Alpine, which would result in a seat up for grabs at AlphaTauri.

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."

Max Verstappen took advantage of another Ferrari tactical blunder to score a maiden Italian Grand Prix victory and extend his championship lead to 116 points.

The reigning Formula One champion edged closer to securing his second consecutive world drivers' crown in glorious sunshine at Monza, after brushing aside a pre-race five-place grid penalty.

But the Dutchman's success came once again with the helping hand of a failed gamble from Ferrari, who lost their home race after opting to throw Charles Leclerc onto long-distance medium tyres early on.

Leclerc, foiled in his bid for a taut title race with Verstappen this year, was pitted with a dozen laps on the board during a virtual safety car brought on by a mechanical failure for Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin.

Having blasted through the pack from seventh at lights out to emerge near the front again, the decision pushed Verstappen to the front and from there he seldom looked troubled by his rival.

Leclerc went onto softs to try and trim a near-twenty second gap, but it was to be in vain, leaving Ferrari to ruminate on another weekend where they lost the advantage.

Carlos Sainz at the very least impressed after a sweeping slate of grid penalties saw him cut through from the back to challenge for a podium, ultimately coming home in fourth behind the Mercedes of George Russell.

The latter's team-mate Lewis Hamilton likewise impressed with a fine drive from the rear of the grid to finish sixth, in another affirmation of the seven-time world champion's talents amid a tough season.

A late breakdown for Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren meant any chance for late drama was neutered under a safety car, and with three weeks to Singapore, Verstappen might start clearing his trophy cabinet for the big one again.

Lewis Hamilton joked he is considering taking his iPad into the cockpit with him at the Italian Grand Prix as he expects to spend much of the race stuck behind other cars.

The Mercedes driver qualified fifth on Saturday, 1.3 seconds behind pole-winner Charles Leclerc, but will start at the back of the grid due to his penalty for a power unit change.

Hamilton is a five-time winner at Monza, but he is without a victory this season in what is his longest ever run without finishing top of the podium.

And the Briton believes he will have to find other means of entertainment on Sunday as he anticipates a bunched grid due to drivers using their Drag Reduction Systems (DRS).

"I'm imagining tomorrow everyone's going to be in a DRS train and it's just going to be sitting there and just waiting for strategy and tyre degradation and those sorts," he said.

"It's a one-stop easy tomorrow, generally, and so strategy won't do too much. But I hope that there's safety cars and all those sorts of things.

"I was thinking of just taking my iPad with me in the race and when I'm in the DRS line just watch the new Game of Thrones."

Leclerc secured pole for Ferrari at their home grand prix, but the starting grid was otherwise complicated by a raft of penalties issued to nine drivers.

Mercedes' George Russell will start in second, while McLaren pair Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo are third and fourth respectively, followed by Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri.

Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz are among five drivers set to receive grid penalties for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, joining Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes confirmed on Thursday that Hamilton would be subject to penalties after taking a fourth power unit of the season, the seven-time world champion to start from the back of the grid having taken a new engine component everywhere barring control electronics and energy store.

Red Bull duo Verstappen and Perez will face penalties for exceeding their allocations of internal combustion engines, Verstappen now on his fifth, landing a five-place penalty, and Perez on his fourth, resulting in a 10-place penalty.

Ferrari's Sainz will receive an 20-place penalty after taking new gearbox components and an energy store, while AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda will add to his penalties with an array of new power unit components, having already been given a 10-place penalty for accumulating five reprimands over the course of the season.

Finally, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas will join former team-mate Hamilton and Tsunoda at the back of the grid after taking new engine components.

Ahead of Friday's practice session, a minute's silence was held following the passing of the Queen on Thursday and all 10 teams posted messages on their social media channels after the news was announced.

Lewis Hamilton has issued a message of support to the Queen following news of her health status on Thursday.

Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Her Majesty's health and said doctors were "concerned", with members of the Royal Family travelling to Balmoral to be by her side.

An outpouring of support has come from across the globe, with world leaders and political figures among those to comment on the matter, and seven-time Formula One world champion Hamilton also spoke on the matter.

"It's definitely concerning. I think she's been such a strong leader for a such a long time, so resilient," he said in a press conference ahead of Sunday's race at Monza.

"I know she's always been a real fighter, so my thoughts are with her. I don't have any more information, I don't know any more about the situation.

"My thoughts are with the family, my thoughts are with her, my prayers are with them and I'm hoping for better news soon."

Hamilton was knighted by the Queen last year, days after he narrowly missed out on what would have been a record-breaking world title.

Lewis Hamilton is set to start the Italian Grand Prix at the back of the grid as Mercedes will use a fourth power unit of the season.

The seven-time world champion sustained damage to the power unit in the recent Belgian Grand Prix, where a collision with Fernando Alonso launched Hamilton's car into the air and led to his retirement shortly after.

Formula One regulations permit the use of three different power units over the course of a season and a grid penalty is issued to those who require the use of additional units – which takes the car to the back of the grid.

A Mercedes spokesperson told GPFans: "We will be fitting PU number [four] for this weekend for Lewis.

"This is because although we are still working on the recovery plan for PU number three that was damaged in Spa, that unit cannot be run this weekend.

"This will come with associated grid penalties as it's in excess of the allocation for the season."

Hamilton is not expected to be the only man on the grid to encounter a penalty for this weekend, with it reported former team-mate Valtteri Bottas will also take a fourth power unit in his Alfa Romeo.

The recent race in Belgium saw a number of engine penalties issued, including those to championship leader Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Yuki Tsunoda's mid-race stoppage at the Dutch Grand Prix may have cost Lewis Hamilton a shot at victory over Max Verstappen.

The Briton looked on course for a first win of a difficult season, having seldom been near the pace of his Red Bull rival following last year's enthralling title battle.

But a virtual safety car stoppage for Alpha Tauri's Tsunoda two-thirds into the race handed Verstappen a free pit stop, before a physical safety car later on allowed the world champion to make another change and overtake Hamilton.

Tsunoda stopped his car after reporting issues with his tyres, removing his safety belts before being ordered to drive back to the pits. His belts were checked and he drove for four more corners, before being told to stop again by his team.

Hamilton was ultimately forced to settle for fourth, behind Verstappen, team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner suggested the stoppage of Tsunoda had no effect on the outcome of the race, but Wolff felt the decision to send the Alpha Tauri – Red Bull's sibling team – back out likely cost Hamilton.

"If we were to fight for a championship, that would be something I would closely look at," he stated when asked if the FIA should review the incident.

"Now, I think what needs to be investigated for the safety of drivers and everybody out there.

"The driver stopped, unbuckled, did a full lap, came in, the problem wasn't solved, they put the seatbelts back on and he drove out and stopped the car again.

"That probably has changed the outcome of the race that we maybe could have won.

"I think we would have had a fair shot at the win. The race planner said the win was on. It was very close, but it was on."

Max Verstappen has paid credit to his Red Bull team while suggesting his victories should also be attributed to him being an "exceptional driver" after Lewis Hamilton's recent comments.

The Red Bull man claimed another home triumph at the Dutch Grand Prix to move closer to a second successive world drivers' championship after last year's victory over the Briton.

The Dutchman has been the dominant driver in F1 this season with a superb car, and Mercedes racer Hamilton previously paid tribute to the technical staff, led by Adrian Newey, at the rival team.

The latter's praise notably omitted credit for Verstappen, who edged him for the title in controversial circumstances last year, and whose partner's father, former driver Nelson Piquet, was involved in a racism storm over the seven-time world champion earlier this year.

Asked on Hamilton's comments after victory at Circuit Zandvoort, Verstappen acknowledged the efforts of his team to aid his quest, but also reinforced that he plays just as much of a crucial part in his own success.

"A lot of that is down to the team, of course, as it's also how Lewis won his championships," he stated. "That's how it goes in Formula 1.

"Your car is super important, but I think when you're an exceptional driver like Lewis is as well, you make a difference over your team-mate at the time, in very crucial races as well.

"You end up winning a race like that and that is, at the end of the day, what good drivers do. They do make the difference compared to other fast drivers.

"The car is very dominant in Formula 1 but of course between team-mates, only one can win, and that's where you have to make the difference."

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes had "a car to win" the Dutch Grand Prix and apologised to his team for an outburst after he missed out on a podium finish.

The seven-time world champion looked to be in with a shout of claiming his first win of a difficult season, one which has seen him off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari.

But after a late safety car that saw the team decide to keep him on existing old tyres, the Briton was swiftly deposed from the lead of the race by eventual winner and incumbent world champion Max Verstappen.

Team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc passed Hamilton in the closing stages to lock out the podium with fresh rubber, and the 37-year-old subsequently turned his fire on the team with his radio messages.

Hamilton said: "I can't believe you guys screwed me like that, I can't tell you how p****d I am right now."

Speaking afterwards, however, a more composed Hamilton offered apologies to his pit crew and team, and vowed to take the positives from an improved race performance, if not ultimately the final result, as he took fourth place.

"I think we had a car to win," he said. "Given the circumstance, we were challenged with lots of things, the safety car, the virtual safety car.

"The strategy and car have been so good today, the pit stops were the best. I was really hopeful we'd get a one-two together as a team, but the safety car really didn't help.

"I was on the edge of breaking point with emotions, so my apologies to the team. I just lost it for a second, but I think they know there's just so much passion.

"I want to look at it as a glass half full. Without the safety car, I think we'd have been challenging at the end for the win. If this can be the same in the future races, we can breathe down their necks and get a win.

"Last race, we were miles away and we couldn't even understand how we could be so far away. Yesterday, I was pole up until the last corner.

"There's a huge positive to take from that and our race pace seems to be better or as good as everyone else, so let's not give up."

Toto Wolff declared "it was worth taking the risk" for both Mercedes drivers to pit with Lewis Hamilton leading the Dutch Grand Prix, despite the Briton fuming on the team radio after the race.

Hamilton was pushing towards a first race victory of the season on Sunday at Zandvoort, where he was embroiled in a gripping battle with reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Seven-time champion Hamilton seemed to seize the initiative after Verstappen pitted following a second safety car deployment due to apparent engine issues for Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas.

While Hamilton surged into the lead, Mercedes decided the 37-year-old should pit and also called in team-mate George Russell, losing the buffer advantage over Verstappen.

That was to allow both Hamilton and Russell to compete for the win in the closing stages, but that plan came unstuck as Verstappen surged into the lead on lap 61 before easing to victory.

As Verstappen embarked on his victory lap in front of a boisterous home crowd, Hamilton furiously questioned the call over the team radio – a decision that Mercedes team principal Wolff later defended.

"First of all, Lewis is ahead. So, we're always having a problem with the call," Wolff told Sky Sports when asked about the decision.

"You can do two things. You can either pit Lewis, lose track position against Verstappen, and leave George out – screwed. You can pit both – screwed. So, it was worth taking the risk."

While Wolff defended the decision in his post-race interview, he admitted on the team radio to Hamilton that the gamble did not pay dividends, adding: "Yeah Lewis, sorry it didn't work out.

"We did what we discussed in the morning, we took a risk. It didn't work. Let's discuss it between us in the office."

Having squandered the lead to Verstappen, Hamilton slipped down to fourth after being overtaken by second-placed Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen expressed his pride after a far from straightforward victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, where the Red Bull driver overcame the pursuit of Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton seemed set to push for his first victory of 2022 at Zandvoort on Sunday but was stifled by pitting decisions and safety car deployments.

A virtual safety car was deployed after AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda was forced to stop following tyre concerns, offering Verstappen a fortuitous pit stop when embroiled in a battle at the front with Hamilton.

Another safety car followed after Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas stopped citing engine concerns, with Verstappen again pitting – arguably a surprising decision that seemed to hand Hamilton the initiative.

But Verstappen roared back in typically aggressive fashion to overtake the seven-time world champion on the main straight of lap 61, before easing to victory ahead of George Russell in second.

That marked a 10th victory of the season for Verstappen, his joint-best return in a single year, while he became the first driver since James Hunt in 1975 and 1976 to win back-to-back F1 races at Zandvoort.

After delivering in front of a largely partisan crowd in the Netherlands, Verstappen credited Red Bull's decisions that ensured he held off Hamilton through the latter stages of the race.

"It was not a straightforward race but we had to push, of course with safety car, virtual safety car, making the right calls," he said on Sky Sports during his post-race interview.

"Always a bit of question mark but it worked out really well. Once we got back to the soft tyres we had great pace again."

Asked whether he harboured any doubts over decisions as Hamilton pressed on, Verstappen added: "We timed it really well out of that last corner into the banking.

"You could see the draft was quite strong and we got ahead. It's incredible to win again.

"It's always special to win your home GP. This year I had to work for it even more. An incredible weekend and I'm really happy we got the Dutch GP."

Charles Leclerc started second on the grid after being edged out by Verstappen in Saturday's qualifying session, though the Ferrari driver had to settle for third on race day despite promising early signs of pace.

The Monegasque racer may have finished on the podium but sits 109 points behind championship leader Verstappen, and Leclerc conceded the Red Bull driver was a class above at the Dutch Grand Prix.

"To be honest, it was difficult to do much better," Leclerc said. "We were a little unlucky with the [virtual safety car]. I don't know if this would have changed anything – Max was too quick today.

"Then there was Mercedes, which were flying on the hard tyres. We struggled to find the feeling on the hard tyres, so we'll analyse that."

Max Verstappen held off a spirited push from Lewis Hamilton to secure a second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory and extend his championship lead to 109 points.

The reigning Formula One champion edged out Charles Leclerc in qualifying to put himself in pole position ahead of Sunday's eventful race, where George Russell finished second and Charles Leclerc took third. Hamilton eventually faded to fourth.

AlphiTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas both stopped midway through the race, with Verstappen's pit stop after the second safety car allowing Hamilton to take the lead.

Yet Verstappen recovered and regained the lead by going past Hamilton down the main straight on lap 61 to claim a fourth consecutive victory and 10th of the season, his joint-best return in a single year after also hitting double figures last year.

The top five retained their positions during an eventful start where Hamilton and Carlos Sainz touched cars through turn one, while Haas' Kevin Magnussen slipped off the track and hit the barrier.

Verstappen continued to keep Leclerc at bay through the opening 10 laps, responding to the Ferrari driver's early signs of pace by pressing forward to move out of DRS range.

A problematic pit stop for Sainz in which no rear-left tyre appeared available saw the Ferrari drop from third to 11th on lap 15, with Hamilton displacing the Spaniard as Verstappen stretched his lead over Leclerc.

Sainz recovered into sixth as Verstappen pitted for the first time on lap 19, with Hamilton – still winless in 2022 – taking the lead as Mercedes ran a one-two with Russell in second.

Verstappen roared back before a pit stop for Hamilton, who then got the better of Sergio Perez as the Mexican aimed to protect his Red Bull team-mate's lead.

A virtual safety car deployed after issues for Tsunoda offered a glorious chance to pit on lap 48 for Verstappen, who led Hamilton by almost 16 seconds with 23 laps to go after the Mercedes driver pitted.

Verstappen squandered his advantage by pitting after another safety car deployment, but he recovered to surge back into the lead with 11 laps to go to race to victory.

Russell and Hamilton almost collided as the former looked to overtake into second, with the seven-time world champion slipping down to fourth after Leclerc eased past him.

George Russell is targeting a rise through the grid in Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix to usurp Ferrari, who he feels will be focused on catching Max Verstappen in pole position.

Mercedes driver Russell qualified sixth in Saturday's session and will sit alongside Red Bull's Sergio Perez on the third row, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton ahead of him in fourth.

While Russell's season has not lived up to expectations he may have had after joining the team that had dominated F1 prior to Verstappen's 2021 championship success, he has a plan to capitalise on Ferrari's title focus on the opening lap as he believes the Dutchman will not be able to be caught.

That could open the door for Russell and Mercedes to strike a decisive blow, with the Briton also adding he is hoping for high temperatures to result in "as many stops as possible".

"I hope they [Ferrari] put all of their focus on Max because that may leave them vulnerable to be honest, because I think Max is just going to clear off into the distance," he said.

"I think we probably will have a faster car than Ferrari and Checo tomorrow. So, we've got to go for it.

"I hope it's as hot as possible, I hope it's as many stops as possible to give us that opportunity. Some teams did long runs this morning and the degradation seemed better than expected.

"It doesn't take a lot, a couple of degrees of track temperature can swing it one way or another, so as I said, I hope the sun comes out."

Hamilton is equally hopeful of a fight with Ferrari at Zandvoort, though he is not certain the car is ready to be able to compete with those ahead of him.

"We've closed the gap somehow on [a single] lap. I can't really understand why but anyways," he said.

"But I am hoping that that means we are closer and even closer in the race and if we are that would be fantastic.

"If we can fight these guys and have a battle with these three ahead of me, that would be an amazing experience."

Lewis Hamilton declared he was "more impressed" by the efforts of Red Bull's engineers than by Max Verstappen's driving ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Having beaten Hamilton to the drivers' championship in controversial circumstances last year, Verstappen has been dominant throughout 2022, and holds a 93-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the standings.

Red Bull also appear certain to end Mercedes' eight-year stranglehold on the constructors' title, having built a 118-point advantage over Ferrari.

Not since the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix have Red Bull failed to get at least one driver onto the podium, while Verstappen has secured nine victories in his last 11 outings.

But when asked about Verstappen's performances, Hamilton chose to shower praise on those behind his car, responding: "I'm more impressed with [Red Bull's chief technical officer] Adrian Newey and his team.

"I think the team, it is a great team. They've generally had really great cars. 

"I think they used to have really high ride height and more drag than before, but I think they've realised this year that their engine isn't actually slower than others. They've done a fantastic job.

"When you've got a stable platform like that… it's a great team. They've done an amazing job. I've got to take my hat off to Red Bull. They had a great car last year as well."

In 2011, Hamilton famously dismissed Red Bull as "just a drinks company", but now acknowledges his criticism was misplaced.

"Anything I would have said in the past about the team... I didn't mean it in a negative way," the seven-time world champion added.

"A few years ago, I said something about them being a drinks company and it was really just highlighting that you would bet on a car manufacturer more than them. 

"But they've proved me wrong, and they've done a great job."

Meanwhile, Hamilton's strained relationship with 2021 title rival Verstappen could mean the Briton receives a hostile welcome in Zandvoort ahead of Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix. 

Hamilton finished as runner-up to Verstappen at the 24-year-old's home race last year, but refuted suggestions his next outing will resemble an "away fixture".

"It's just another race," Hamilton said. "I'm here to do a job."