Valtteri Bottas won Formula 1 Sprint at Monza in a largely processional 18-lap encounter on Saturday.
The outcome of the race was effectively decided at the start in which Lewis Hamilton bogged down from second and dropped to sixth spot.
That promoted Max Verstappen to second, the fast-starting Daniel Ricciardo into third, Pierre Gasly into fourth and Lando Norris to fifth.
However Gasly’s race lasted just one more corner as he crashed out through Curva Grande, having damaged his front wing after nudging Ricciardo at the first chicane.
The front wing lodged itself under Gasly’s AlphaTauri and he was sent through the gravel and into the barriers.
That brought out the Safety Car, bunching the field, but the pack largely strung out thereafter.
Bottas was uncontested up front to register victory, and pole position, but he will drop to the back of the grid for the grand prix due to his engine penalty.
That promotes Verstappen to pole position while his runner-up spot in Sprint means he extends his title advantage over Hamilton to five points.
Ricciardo was third, and will start from second on the grid on Sunday, ahead of Norris and Hamilton.
Ferrari took sixth and seventh, with Charles Leclerc jumping team-mate Carlos Sainz, while Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was a quietly impressive eighth.
Sergio Perez took ninth for Red Bull as Lance Stroll capped the top 10.
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon took 11th and 13th respectively, split by Sebastian Vettel, while Nicholas Latifi headed Williams team-mate George Russell.
Yuki Tsunoda and Robert Kubica made contact at the start, spinning the Alfa Romeo stand-in, but the Pole was able to re-join the back of the train behind the Safety Car.
Nikita Mazepin was among the biggest gainers, moving from 20th to 17th, ahead of Kubica and Haas team-mate Mick Schumacher.
Gasly was the sole retirement and will consequently start from 19th, ahead only of the penalised Bottas.
Sunday’s 53-lap Italian Grand Prix is scheduled for 15:00 local time
[motorsport_result id=’72540′]
