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Telly Talk Supreme
Italian GP: Charles Leclerc tops second practice
By Andrew Benson
Live text and audio commentary of final practice and qualifying is live on the BBC Sport website
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc edged Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to set fastest time in a weather-affected second practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
Leclerc, fresh from his maiden win in Belgium, was 0.068 seconds quicker than Hamilton. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.201secs off the pace.
The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was third, from the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.
Intermittent rain made competitiveness harder to read than usual.
That also meant an off-set in the later race-simulation preparation, on which Mercedes appeared to have an advantage but on which Ferrari may have been affected by a damper track for the start of their runs.
The second practice session had to be stopped while gravel was removed from the track. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was one of a number of culprits
Nevertheless, the performance pattern of the cars appeared as expected - with Ferrari having an advantage on a single lap but Mercedes faster over a longer run.
That is exactly the pattern seen in Belgium, where Leclerc took pole by three-quarters of a second, but won the race with a charging Hamilton right on his tail.
Among the top six, there was a notable performance from Albon.
In only his second race for Red Bull following his promotion from Toro Rosso, he was a creditable 0.239secs slower than Verstappen, who will start this weekend from the back of the grid as a result of a penalty for using too many engines.
That is also the case for Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, who was seventh fastest, and McLaren's Lando Norris, who ended up 18th after missing the first half of the session while McLaren fixed an oil leak.
Behind Gasly, Renault's Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat and the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
There were a few spins and off-track moments, but no accidents, unlike the first session, when both Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez had heavy crashes.
"Not a massive amount different to the last race," said Hamilton afterwards. "They (Ferrari) are quite quick in a straight line. We are quite strong on race pace but perhaps a little closer potentially on single-lap pace so it looks like we have a fight."
Vettel added: "It was OK but we can still get more out of the car. The main thing is we got some decent laps, we know where the weaknesses are and that's what we try to work on."
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Live text and audio commentary of final practice and qualifying is live on the BBC Sport website
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc edged Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to set fastest time in a weather-affected second practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
Leclerc, fresh from his maiden win in Belgium, was 0.068 seconds quicker than Hamilton. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.201secs off the pace.
The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was third, from the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.
Intermittent rain made competitiveness harder to read than usual.
- Italian Grand Prix second practice results and coverage details
- Charles Leclerc fastest in first practice
- Third practice and qualifying live
- Chequered Flag podcast: Ricciardo - Danger and Death
That also meant an off-set in the later race-simulation preparation, on which Mercedes appeared to have an advantage but on which Ferrari may have been affected by a damper track for the start of their runs.
The second practice session had to be stopped while gravel was removed from the track. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was one of a number of culprits
Nevertheless, the performance pattern of the cars appeared as expected - with Ferrari having an advantage on a single lap but Mercedes faster over a longer run.
That is exactly the pattern seen in Belgium, where Leclerc took pole by three-quarters of a second, but won the race with a charging Hamilton right on his tail.
Among the top six, there was a notable performance from Albon.
In only his second race for Red Bull following his promotion from Toro Rosso, he was a creditable 0.239secs slower than Verstappen, who will start this weekend from the back of the grid as a result of a penalty for using too many engines.
That is also the case for Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, who was seventh fastest, and McLaren's Lando Norris, who ended up 18th after missing the first half of the session while McLaren fixed an oil leak.
Behind Gasly, Renault's Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat and the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
There were a few spins and off-track moments, but no accidents, unlike the first session, when both Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez had heavy crashes.
"Not a massive amount different to the last race," said Hamilton afterwards. "They (Ferrari) are quite quick in a straight line. We are quite strong on race pace but perhaps a little closer potentially on single-lap pace so it looks like we have a fight."
Vettel added: "It was OK but we can still get more out of the car. The main thing is we got some decent laps, we know where the weaknesses are and that's what we try to work on."
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Italian GP: Charles Leclerc takes bizarre Italian GP pole
Sunday's race is live on 5 live and the BBC Sport website at 14:10 BST
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole position following a farcical end to qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix.
All drivers except Leclerc and Carlos Sainz of McLaren failed to get around to start a final lap after waiting to catch a slipstream at high-speed Monza.
The unlikely climax left Leclerc on pole with his first lap, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.039 seconds.
The other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was third, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.
It was Leclerc's second consecutive pole position in just seven days.
The 21-year-old did not even have to complete a final lap after he became the only frontrunner to make it across the line in time at the end of the session.
"No, no - after you..." Cars queue up to avoid being 'first the worst'
Leclerc was greeted by frenzied cheers from the thousands of passionate Ferrari fans - the tifosi - packed into Monza in expectation of a Ferrari pole.
Leclerc, who had already enjoyed a rapturous reception in nearby Milan on Wednesday at a celebration of 90 years of the Italian Grand Prix, said: "It feels unbelievable.
"Already on Wednesday in Milan was incredible and today to see so many people feels absolutely amazing.
"Happy with the pole but in the end there was a big mess. I hoped for a last lap but in the end it was enough for pole."
Ferrari fans look stunned after Charles Leclerc seals pole by not really doing anything
The almost laughable scenes at the end were precipitated by the fact that a slipstream - where one car gains an advantage by closely following another - at Monza can be worth about 0.3secs a lap, invaluable when the times are so close around a circuit with only six effective corners.
Hamilton said Mercedes had been caught out because they were waiting for Ferrari to run first.
"I have to be grateful I am on the front row," said the world champion. "We get to have a fight with the Ferraris tomorrow. We split them and it is a nice position to be in. We can give them a good fight.
"It was a bit of an anti-climax at the end but it is crazy with this system we now have and they basically timed us out.
"On the out lap it is dangerous. You don't know who's slowing down and who's alongside you. It is risky business but it is enjoyable at the same time."
Teams had been warned that drivers could face penalties for driving unnecessarily slowly on their out laps and the end to qualifying is being investigated by governing body the FIA.
Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas agreed that the situation was dangerous and far from ideal, but said that they did not see a way out of it while the tow was so important to a lap time.
"It will be until someone crashes that they will change it," Hamilton said.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "The problem was everyone wants a slipstream and nobody wants to go first... and then everyone looks like idiots."
And here's what you get for being a Ferrari hero - Leclerc arrives in style
A series of incidents
The controversial end to the session was fitting in some ways for a day filled with incident and controversy.
Vettel narrowly avoided having his only lap time in final qualifying deleted for abusing track limits at the final Parabolica corner.
Red Bull's Alexander Albon failed to record a time on his first run because he was running behind Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed at Parabolica.
Raikkonen's crash also delayed Hamilton, who was right behind the Finn and had to lift slightly at the last corner, later saying he felt that had cost him pole.
And Bottas, running behind Hamilton at the time, initially had his first lap time deleted on the basis that he had not made it across the line before the red flag for Raikkonen's crash, only for officials to reinstate it when he said in fact he had.
And Bottas escaped having his time deleted despite passing yellow flags for Raikkonen's crash, on the basis that he did slow down - which he also said he felt had cost him pole.
The track limits needed to be policed at Parabolica because a kerb the had been inserted to deter the drivers from going off track had to be removed after it launched a Formula 3 car into a horrifying accident in a race in the morning.
Australian Alex Peroni suffered a series of mid-air somersaults and twists before crashing down upside down on the barriers.
He walked away from the crash but was later taken to hospital where it was discovered he has a broken vertebra.
"Not sure the recovery time but hope to be back in the car as soon as possible," he wrote on Instagram.
Raikkonen crashed late in qualifying at the high-speed Parabolica corner, where the huge Formula 3 crash before final F1 practice happened
Another blow for Vettel
Vettel has now been out-qualified by Leclerc for seven races in a row and the session did not go his way.
He set his first lap without a tow after the Ferraris followed the Mercedes out only to see the silver cars pull over at the end of the pit lane. Vettel hesitated, thought about stopping behind them, but then accelerated away.
In the circumstances, he did well to lap within 0.15secs of Leclerc.
The Monegasque said the original plan was for Vettel to tow him on the first runs and then Leclerc to return the favour on the seconds.
But in the chaos of the dying seconds, Vettel first overtook Leclerc early on the warm-up lap as the cars jockeyed for position.
Leclerc then passed Vettel before Parabolica on instruction to the team, but Vettel did not cross the line in time to do a lap.
Behind the top four, Ricciardo was in excellent form in the Renault, which lacks downforce but has a strong engine and goes well on this type of track.
The Australian was 0.21secs quicker than team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, with McLaren's Carlos Sainz eighth.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat and McLaren's Carlos Sainz will start the race from the back as a result of penalties for using too many engines.
And Raikkonen, although he was classified 10th, is likely to join them.
Swami
Sunday's race is live on 5 live and the BBC Sport website at 14:10 BST
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole position following a farcical end to qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix.
All drivers except Leclerc and Carlos Sainz of McLaren failed to get around to start a final lap after waiting to catch a slipstream at high-speed Monza.
The unlikely climax left Leclerc on pole with his first lap, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.039 seconds.
The other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was third, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.
It was Leclerc's second consecutive pole position in just seven days.
The 21-year-old did not even have to complete a final lap after he became the only frontrunner to make it across the line in time at the end of the session.
- Italian Grand Prix qualifying results and Italian Grand Prix coverage details
- Vettel fastest in final practice after F3 crash delays start
- Leclerc tops first two practice sessions
- Italian GP race live including BBC Radio 5 Live commentary
"No, no - after you..." Cars queue up to avoid being 'first the worst'
Leclerc was greeted by frenzied cheers from the thousands of passionate Ferrari fans - the tifosi - packed into Monza in expectation of a Ferrari pole.
Leclerc, who had already enjoyed a rapturous reception in nearby Milan on Wednesday at a celebration of 90 years of the Italian Grand Prix, said: "It feels unbelievable.
"Already on Wednesday in Milan was incredible and today to see so many people feels absolutely amazing.
"Happy with the pole but in the end there was a big mess. I hoped for a last lap but in the end it was enough for pole."
Ferrari fans look stunned after Charles Leclerc seals pole by not really doing anything
The almost laughable scenes at the end were precipitated by the fact that a slipstream - where one car gains an advantage by closely following another - at Monza can be worth about 0.3secs a lap, invaluable when the times are so close around a circuit with only six effective corners.
Hamilton said Mercedes had been caught out because they were waiting for Ferrari to run first.
"I have to be grateful I am on the front row," said the world champion. "We get to have a fight with the Ferraris tomorrow. We split them and it is a nice position to be in. We can give them a good fight.
"It was a bit of an anti-climax at the end but it is crazy with this system we now have and they basically timed us out.
"On the out lap it is dangerous. You don't know who's slowing down and who's alongside you. It is risky business but it is enjoyable at the same time."
Teams had been warned that drivers could face penalties for driving unnecessarily slowly on their out laps and the end to qualifying is being investigated by governing body the FIA.
Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas agreed that the situation was dangerous and far from ideal, but said that they did not see a way out of it while the tow was so important to a lap time.
"It will be until someone crashes that they will change it," Hamilton said.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "The problem was everyone wants a slipstream and nobody wants to go first... and then everyone looks like idiots."
And here's what you get for being a Ferrari hero - Leclerc arrives in style
A series of incidents
The controversial end to the session was fitting in some ways for a day filled with incident and controversy.
Vettel narrowly avoided having his only lap time in final qualifying deleted for abusing track limits at the final Parabolica corner.
Red Bull's Alexander Albon failed to record a time on his first run because he was running behind Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed at Parabolica.
Raikkonen's crash also delayed Hamilton, who was right behind the Finn and had to lift slightly at the last corner, later saying he felt that had cost him pole.
And Bottas, running behind Hamilton at the time, initially had his first lap time deleted on the basis that he had not made it across the line before the red flag for Raikkonen's crash, only for officials to reinstate it when he said in fact he had.
And Bottas escaped having his time deleted despite passing yellow flags for Raikkonen's crash, on the basis that he did slow down - which he also said he felt had cost him pole.
The track limits needed to be policed at Parabolica because a kerb the had been inserted to deter the drivers from going off track had to be removed after it launched a Formula 3 car into a horrifying accident in a race in the morning.
Australian Alex Peroni suffered a series of mid-air somersaults and twists before crashing down upside down on the barriers.
He walked away from the crash but was later taken to hospital where it was discovered he has a broken vertebra.
"Not sure the recovery time but hope to be back in the car as soon as possible," he wrote on Instagram.
Raikkonen crashed late in qualifying at the high-speed Parabolica corner, where the huge Formula 3 crash before final F1 practice happened
Another blow for Vettel
Vettel has now been out-qualified by Leclerc for seven races in a row and the session did not go his way.
He set his first lap without a tow after the Ferraris followed the Mercedes out only to see the silver cars pull over at the end of the pit lane. Vettel hesitated, thought about stopping behind them, but then accelerated away.
In the circumstances, he did well to lap within 0.15secs of Leclerc.
The Monegasque said the original plan was for Vettel to tow him on the first runs and then Leclerc to return the favour on the seconds.
But in the chaos of the dying seconds, Vettel first overtook Leclerc early on the warm-up lap as the cars jockeyed for position.
Leclerc then passed Vettel before Parabolica on instruction to the team, but Vettel did not cross the line in time to do a lap.
Behind the top four, Ricciardo was in excellent form in the Renault, which lacks downforce but has a strong engine and goes well on this type of track.
The Australian was 0.21secs quicker than team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, with McLaren's Carlos Sainz eighth.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat and McLaren's Carlos Sainz will start the race from the back as a result of penalties for using too many engines.
And Raikkonen, although he was classified 10th, is likely to join them.
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Italian GP: Charles Leclerc wins in Italy after 'dangerous' defending on Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc just held on under intense pressure from both Mercedes drivers to win a nail-biting, incident-filled and controversial Italian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old pushed the rules on driving conduct to hold off Lewis Hamilton through the middle of the race before Valtteri Bottas took up the challenge in the closing laps after a mistake from the world champion.
And there were fresh concerns surrounding Sebastian Vettel after yet another driving error in a long sequence dating back to the middle of last year.
Leclerc's victory was his second in a row, following his maiden win in Belgium a week ago, and Ferrari's first at their home race since Fernando Alonso triumphed in 2010.
Leclerc screamed with delight into his radio as he crossed the line, after a victory that further underlines his status as a major new force in F1.
The 1978 world champion Mario Andretti, who drove for Ferrari at the start of his career and at the end of the 1982 season, said: "Fab win for Charles Leclerc, under pressure all the way. Future world champion for sure."
Eight days after the loss of his friend Anthoine Hubert in a Formula 2 crash in Spa, Leclerc was overcome with intense emotions after the race.
"I have never been so tired," Leclerc said, before switching to Italian and saying: "It was the hardest race" and describing the win as "a dream".
Magical Monza: Leclerc is an instant hero, winning for Ferrari in Italy for the first time since Fernando Alonso in 2010
Leclerc's 'dangerous' battle with Hamilton
This victory was even harder won than at Spa, when he drove a measured race to finish less than a second ahead of Hamilton.
This time, Leclerc had a Mercedes behind him throughout and he had to resort to some questionable tactics to hold Hamilton off.
Mercedes failed in an attempt to pass Leclerc with the so-called undercut, when a team stops their driver a lap earlier than their rival to try to benefit from fresh tyres.
The pit stops completed, Hamilton had his first chance on track on lap 23 when Leclerc locked up into the first chicane.
The world champion was alongside into the next proper corner, the Roggia chicane, and Leclerc moved over and pushed Hamilton slightly off the track.
Hamilton complained he had broken a rule saying a driver has to leave a car's width on his outside if he is defending in this fashion but the officials chose to give Leclerc a black-and-white warning flag - the equivalent to a yellow card in football.
Leclerc showed the kind of mental strength to hold off the combined threat of the Mercedes that will endear him even more to the Tifosi
Hamilton continued to track Lerclerc, who on lap 35 locked up at Turn One and had to cut the chicane.
Again, Hamilton was on his tail accelerating out of the corner, and this time Leclerc made a very late move through Curva Grande to fend Hamilton off.
"There is some dangerous driving going on," Hamilton said over team radio, but there was no further word from the stewards.
Soon, Hamilton's tyres started going off - Mercedes had fitted mediums at the stop while Ferrari had chosen hards.
The bell tolled for Hamilton's chances on lap 42, when he locked up and went straight on at the first chicane, and Bottas slipped by into second place.
Seven laps later, Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres in pursuit of the point for fastest lap, which he secured.
Hamilton's championship lead is now cut by two points to 63 ahead of Bottas.
Not enough pressure from Bottas
With Hamilton out of the picture, it was Bottas' turn to attack Leclerc.
The Finn had medium tyres that were eight laps fresher than Hamilton's and should have been able to challenge Leclerc even harder than the world champion had.
But he was unable to do so. Leclerc, despite his now very worn tyres, kept him at arm's length.
And when Bottas locked up at the first chicane on lap 51 lapping Lando Norris' McLaren, Leclerc had the job done and secured a victory that will live in his memory for the rest of his life.
Vettel's Ferrari status hanging by a thread
Stop, look, listen, THINK: Vettel rams Stroll as he comes back on to the track
While Leclerc took a win both brilliant and controversial, Vettel had a nightmare.
He ran fourth for the first five laps, after briefly losing the place to Renault's Nico Hulkenberg on the first lap, but then lost control of his car at the Ascari chicane.
As if that was not bad enough, he then rejoined the track without looking and crashed into Lance Stroll's Racing Point.
The Canadian then committed a similar offence as he got going again, narrowly missing Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly.
Vettel was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for the incident, the most severe in-race penalty available to the stewards short of a disqualification.
Vettel lost it at the Ascari chicane
But there will be those who feel he deserves a further penalty, perhaps a grid drop at the next race in Singapore, after a quite ludicrous piece of driving for a four-time world champion.
Vettel began the season as the number one driver at Ferrari but has been consistently outperformed by Leclerc - the Monagasque now having won two races, with Vettel winless since Belgium last year, and out-qualifying him several times in 2019.
Vettel also got three penalty points. That's nine for the 12-month period. Three more and he gets a race ban.
The Renaults of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg took fourth and fifth, ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon, who recovered after running off track early on trying to pass McLaren's Carlos Sainz around the outside of the first Lesmo corner.
Driver of the day
Leclerc blotted his copybook with his move across on Hamilton at the Roggia chicane, and he was right on the edge at Curva Grande, but other than that this was a superlative defensive drive from a man emerging as a remarkable Formula 1 driver
What happens next?
Singapore in two weeks' time. It's tight and twisty and has lots of corners, so Ferrari can expect to struggle after two consecutive wins. But can Red Bull take the challenge to Mercedes at Marina Bay? Max Verstappen will fancy his chances.
What they said
Leclerc said: "I did a few mistakes but at the end I finished first. Very happy with this. I need to be careful with the mistakes but none of them made me lose position today."
Bottas said: "I think we had some good strategy for me but I am gutted. I tried everything to get him but the re was no way past. There was front locking from the loss of downforce and they are so fast in a straight line."
Hamilton said: "Charles did a great job. A lot of pressure from Valtteri and me. I did the best I could. Following so closely for such a long time. The tyres went off, they were so quick in a straight line."
Swami
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc just held on under intense pressure from both Mercedes drivers to win a nail-biting, incident-filled and controversial Italian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old pushed the rules on driving conduct to hold off Lewis Hamilton through the middle of the race before Valtteri Bottas took up the challenge in the closing laps after a mistake from the world champion.
And there were fresh concerns surrounding Sebastian Vettel after yet another driving error in a long sequence dating back to the middle of last year.
Leclerc's victory was his second in a row, following his maiden win in Belgium a week ago, and Ferrari's first at their home race since Fernando Alonso triumphed in 2010.
Leclerc screamed with delight into his radio as he crossed the line, after a victory that further underlines his status as a major new force in F1.
The 1978 world champion Mario Andretti, who drove for Ferrari at the start of his career and at the end of the 1982 season, said: "Fab win for Charles Leclerc, under pressure all the way. Future world champion for sure."
Eight days after the loss of his friend Anthoine Hubert in a Formula 2 crash in Spa, Leclerc was overcome with intense emotions after the race.
"I have never been so tired," Leclerc said, before switching to Italian and saying: "It was the hardest race" and describing the win as "a dream".
Magical Monza: Leclerc is an instant hero, winning for Ferrari in Italy for the first time since Fernando Alonso in 2010
Leclerc's 'dangerous' battle with Hamilton
This victory was even harder won than at Spa, when he drove a measured race to finish less than a second ahead of Hamilton.
This time, Leclerc had a Mercedes behind him throughout and he had to resort to some questionable tactics to hold Hamilton off.
Mercedes failed in an attempt to pass Leclerc with the so-called undercut, when a team stops their driver a lap earlier than their rival to try to benefit from fresh tyres.
The pit stops completed, Hamilton had his first chance on track on lap 23 when Leclerc locked up into the first chicane.
The world champion was alongside into the next proper corner, the Roggia chicane, and Leclerc moved over and pushed Hamilton slightly off the track.
Hamilton complained he had broken a rule saying a driver has to leave a car's width on his outside if he is defending in this fashion but the officials chose to give Leclerc a black-and-white warning flag - the equivalent to a yellow card in football.
Leclerc showed the kind of mental strength to hold off the combined threat of the Mercedes that will endear him even more to the Tifosi
Hamilton continued to track Lerclerc, who on lap 35 locked up at Turn One and had to cut the chicane.
Again, Hamilton was on his tail accelerating out of the corner, and this time Leclerc made a very late move through Curva Grande to fend Hamilton off.
"There is some dangerous driving going on," Hamilton said over team radio, but there was no further word from the stewards.
Soon, Hamilton's tyres started going off - Mercedes had fitted mediums at the stop while Ferrari had chosen hards.
The bell tolled for Hamilton's chances on lap 42, when he locked up and went straight on at the first chicane, and Bottas slipped by into second place.
Seven laps later, Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres in pursuit of the point for fastest lap, which he secured.
Hamilton's championship lead is now cut by two points to 63 ahead of Bottas.
Not enough pressure from Bottas
With Hamilton out of the picture, it was Bottas' turn to attack Leclerc.
The Finn had medium tyres that were eight laps fresher than Hamilton's and should have been able to challenge Leclerc even harder than the world champion had.
But he was unable to do so. Leclerc, despite his now very worn tyres, kept him at arm's length.
And when Bottas locked up at the first chicane on lap 51 lapping Lando Norris' McLaren, Leclerc had the job done and secured a victory that will live in his memory for the rest of his life.
Vettel's Ferrari status hanging by a thread
Stop, look, listen, THINK: Vettel rams Stroll as he comes back on to the track
While Leclerc took a win both brilliant and controversial, Vettel had a nightmare.
He ran fourth for the first five laps, after briefly losing the place to Renault's Nico Hulkenberg on the first lap, but then lost control of his car at the Ascari chicane.
As if that was not bad enough, he then rejoined the track without looking and crashed into Lance Stroll's Racing Point.
The Canadian then committed a similar offence as he got going again, narrowly missing Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly.
Vettel was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for the incident, the most severe in-race penalty available to the stewards short of a disqualification.
Vettel lost it at the Ascari chicane
But there will be those who feel he deserves a further penalty, perhaps a grid drop at the next race in Singapore, after a quite ludicrous piece of driving for a four-time world champion.
Vettel began the season as the number one driver at Ferrari but has been consistently outperformed by Leclerc - the Monagasque now having won two races, with Vettel winless since Belgium last year, and out-qualifying him several times in 2019.
Vettel also got three penalty points. That's nine for the 12-month period. Three more and he gets a race ban.
The Renaults of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg took fourth and fifth, ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon, who recovered after running off track early on trying to pass McLaren's Carlos Sainz around the outside of the first Lesmo corner.
Driver of the day
Leclerc blotted his copybook with his move across on Hamilton at the Roggia chicane, and he was right on the edge at Curva Grande, but other than that this was a superlative defensive drive from a man emerging as a remarkable Formula 1 driver
What happens next?
Singapore in two weeks' time. It's tight and twisty and has lots of corners, so Ferrari can expect to struggle after two consecutive wins. But can Red Bull take the challenge to Mercedes at Marina Bay? Max Verstappen will fancy his chances.
What they said
Leclerc said: "I did a few mistakes but at the end I finished first. Very happy with this. I need to be careful with the mistakes but none of them made me lose position today."
Bottas said: "I think we had some good strategy for me but I am gutted. I tried everything to get him but the re was no way past. There was front locking from the loss of downforce and they are so fast in a straight line."
Hamilton said: "Charles did a great job. A lot of pressure from Valtteri and me. I did the best I could. Following so closely for such a long time. The tyres went off, they were so quick in a straight line."
Swami