Charles Leclerc held off a charging Oscar Piastri in the final laps in Monza to claim a surprise victory in the Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari rolled the dice on strategy to gain track position in the latter third of the race, Leclerc holding on against his fast-charging rivals.

He won by just 2.6s from Piastri, with Lando Norris third and Carlos Sainz in fourth.

Max Verstappen could do no better than sixth while Daniel Ricciardo was classified 13th.

At the race start, Norris swept across the road to head Piastri, who pulled wide to make for a McLaren one-two through the first chicane.

George Russell locked his rear brakes and took to the escape road in the Mercedes and dropped down the order.

At the second chicane, Piastri attacked his team-mate to steal the lead, Norris also slipping behind Leclerc.

The Australian went around the outside of the left-hander, leaving him with the inside line for the right that immediately followed.

At the end of the opening lap the order was Piastri from Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Russell, and Sergio Perez.

Nico Hulkenberg had a poor opening lap to drop to 16th following a moment into the Ascari chicane with Daniel Ricciardo, the pair making contact as the RB squeezed the Haas driver into the dirt on the approach to the left-hander.

It saw Ricciardo handed a five-second penalty while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda retired after separate contact with Hulkenberg at Turn 1 on Lap 2 for which the German picked up a 10-second penalty and forced Tsunoda out of the race.

The leading eight ran line astern through the opening 10 laps, pulling clear of Albon in ninth but not especially quickly, ensuring the pit window remained closed for those at the front of the race.

The Williams was only five seconds off the back of Perez, the second Red Bull in eighth just 10.5s back from the race lead.

Russell fell victim to the Mexican at the start of Lap 11 thanks to DRS down the front straight.

The Red Bull drivers had started on hard compound rubber versus mediums for those they were racing.

Mercedes pitted Russell at the end of the lap, swapping his front wing after it was damaged in the opening exchanges.

The front of the race had opened up, Piastri holding a two-second lead over Leclerc, who was 1.2s clear of Norris in third, who pitted at the end of Lap 14.

It was a scrappy entry, heavily locking up as he approached the speed limit line, tagging a foam advertising board in the process.

A quick stop still fed him out behind Esteban Ocon, Norris clearing the Alpine into the second chicane.

His ability to stop was opened up by others having taken service behind Albon, Fernando Alonso chief among them, creating the window for the leaders to feed into.

Leclerc and Hamilton took the opportunity to stop on Lap 15, Ferrari losing track position to Norris in the process.

McLaren boxed Piastri from the race lead next time around, emerging ahead of Norris in a net fourth.

Ahead, Sainz remained on track on his mediums while Red Bull Racing was going long on their hard compound tyres.

In the pit sequence, Ricciardo picked up a 10-second penalty after RB was judged not to have served the initial penalty correctly – a mechanic having touched the front wing as he pulled into the pit box.

On track, the McLaren pit wall advised Norris that he’d likely be asked to support Piastri with the squad employing “Papaya rules,” internal code that defined the rules of engagement between the pair.

Sainz pitted after 19 laps to leave Verstappen in the race lead from Perez, the pair on the alternate strategy but only 10s ahead of Piastri – a gap that was quickly disappearing.

After 22 laps, Verstappen pitted to swap his hard tyres for mediums, the timing of his stop hinting towards a two-stop race given the robust rubber fell short of even half distance.

Verstappen had a second set of hard compound tyres fitted, guaranteeing he’d visit the lane for a second time later in the race.

Another radio message to Norris advised he was free to race Piastri, the Australian having inherited the lead once more when Perez boxed at the end of Lap 23.

Piastri was inching clear of Norris in second, who in turn was becoming vulnerable to Leclerc after a mistake at the second chicane on Lap 31.

That coincided with the second pit window opening, McLaren taking the opportunity at the end of Lap 32.

Norris fed back in between Verstappen and Perez in sixth on the road after a slow stop.

After 39 laps, race leader Piastri stopped for a second time, emerging ahead of Verstappen and Norris to sit third on track behind Leclerc and Sainz.

While the Red Bull Racing was out of sequence, the Dutchman was in no mood to make it easy for his title rival to cruise by.

It was always a forgone conclusion, the McLaren faster in a straight line and also with much newer tyres, but Verstappen delayed Norris for what it was worth.

Leclerc continued to lead with no indication from Ferrari that he nor team-mate Sainz were planning a second stop.

It was a strategy that gave Leclerc a 15s advantage with 11 laps remaining, and Sainz acting as rear gunner in second.

Piastri was significantly faster, lapping 1.8s/lap faster than the Ferraris ahead at points, though that pace gradually disappeared as he got the most out of his tyres.

The Australian was on the back of the second-placed Spaniard as they began Lap 45, but the Hungarian GP winner was patient and only cruised by thanks to DRS into the Ascari chicane.

It left him 11.7s back from Leclerc out front with seven laps remaining, drawing that back by 1.6s a lap later.

Piastri had much stronger pace but with laps running out it was a big ask for the Australian.

Indeed, it was too big as Leclerc sensationally held on by 2.6 seconds to hand Ferrari victory in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Piastri remained second from Norris with Sainz fourth ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell, and Perez.

The top 10 was completed by Kevin Magnussen and Albon, while Ricciardo crossed the line 12th – dropping to 13th behind Franco Colapinto once his 10-second penalty was applied.