Ricciardo was confident of Monza F1 win before Hamilton/Verstappen crash

After making a storming start from second on the grid, Ricciardo retained the lead of the grand prix after a slow pit stop for Verstappen, who had been running directly behind him for the duration of the first stint.

On Lap 26, the two title contenders collided at the first sequence of corners, giving Ricciardo a clear route to the victory.

McLaren’s impressive straight-line speed advantage made it incredibly difficult for its rivals to overtake with Hamilton spending the best part of 40 laps behind Lando Norris in the sprint and first part of the grand prix. 

“There were some laps where he [Verstappen] pushed up closer but I never really had to properly defend, Ricciardo said in the post-race press conference. “He was there but I knew if I didn’t make a mistake it was going to be hard for him to… Unless he kind of sent a little bit of a Hail Mary, it was going to be tough for him to pass. 

“I think where I felt I was a little vulnerable was at the end of that stint, where the tyres were going off, but I believe the others were suffering as well. So in my head I was thinking we were going to be vulnerable in that moment. I pitted and I think everyone else pitted as well, so I think we were all struggling at the same moment. 

“And it was then, when we came back out in the lead, then I was like ‘alright, we’ve got this today’, like unless something unfortunate happens we can really win this race. From that moment on it was like… I think that’s when any last bit of belief you need you top it up and you’re like ‘alright, someone is going to have to take it from me today, because otherwise we’re winning this thing’.”

Ricciardo's first win since 2018 propels him up to eighth in the drivers' championship on 83 points.