Pierre Gasly wins bizarre Italian Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton given penalty for illegal pit stop

LEWIS HAMILTON saw Italian Grand Prix glory slip through his fingers after a botched pit stop as Pierre Gasly won a crazy race at Monza.

The reigning world champion looked to be cruising towards a sixth win in eight this season while title rivals Valtteri Bottas and and Max Verstappen struggled.

Pierre Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix in crazy fashion at Monza

Lewis Hamilton pitted when the lane was closed and hit with a penalty

Lewis Hamilton took a trip to the stewards’ room during the reg flag after being hit with a 10-second stop-go penalty

But the race completely changed on it’s head when Kevin Magnussen crashed out midway through and parked his Haas at the entry to the pit lane.

The safety car was called out and Hamilton pitted straight away from the lead, unaware of the fact the pit lane was closed to recover Magnussen’s stranded car.

And that was followed moments later by a red flag after Charles Leclerc suffered a scary crash at the Parabolica chicane.

The Frenchman escaped unhurt, but it was the second Ferrari not to finish their home grand prix after Sebastian Vettel’s brake failure.

Sebastian Vettel retired early with a brake failure in more misery for Ferrari

A livid Hamilton took a trip to the stewards’ room while the race was stopped to protest his case.

But the Brit was hit with a 10-second stop-go penalty that dropped him all the way to the back of the pack when the race resumed with 26 laps to go.

And that freed up some unlikely potential winners to race it out at the front.

Gasly had just enough in the tank to guide his AlphaTauri to victory in their home grand prix from Carlos Sainz’s McLaren in second.

Lewis Hamilton got away cleanly, but Valtteri Bottas was chased down by both McLarens

The McLarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris had flying starts behind Hamilton

But the safety car and red flag that followed threw the race into chaos

Pierre Gasly benefitted from Hamilton’s woes to win at Monza

Carlos Sainz came home second for McLaren

Lance Stroll came third for Racing Point ahead of Lando Norris in the second McLaren.

A crumb of comfort for Hamilton will be that title rival Max Verstappen retired while Valtteri Bottas finished off the podium in 5th.

The Brit fought his way back through the pack to finish 7th.

F1 stays in Italy for next week’s race at Mugello, which marks the halfway point in the 2020 season.

More to follow…

A flyover makes the colours of the Italian flag before the race

Italian healthcare heroes were in the stands, along with cardboard fan cutouts