Kimi Antonelli's magical season has continued emphatically, winning his home Italian Grand Prix from 19th in a historic triumph for the F1 drivers' championship leader.

The 20-year-old drove a near-flawless race to become the first Italian in 60 years to win in their home grand prix, beating teammate George Russell in a thrilling finish.

Max Verstappen placed third, while Lando Norris overtook Oscar Piastri on the final lap as the McLaren duo finished fourth and fifth. 

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy crash into the barriers on the second lap, hitting the tyre wall at high speed and shattering the hearts of thousands of passionate Ferrari fans in the grandstands at Monza. 

But those Ferrari fans were on their feet by the end of the grand prix, as one of their own took the chequered flag on a weekend where his championship lead was supposed to shrink. 

"Unbelievable. I am so happy," Antonelli said after becoming the first Italian since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 to win the race. 

"I could never have imagined to be here today. 

"We managed to pull it off, and I am really happy."

Antonelli's win from 19th is the second-furthest back a driver has started and gone on to win. 

Only John Watson, from 22nd at the 1983 United States Grand Prix, has won from a lower grid spot.

Antonelli knew he was going to start from well back, with Mercedes announcing at the Dutch Grand Prix a fortnight earlier that the championship leader would have new power unit components fitted for this weekend, which would exceed his year's allocation. 

With tyre degradation low, and a one-stop all but certain if there were no incidents, Antonelli got off to a flying start by jumping from 19th to 12th in the opening two laps. 

Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari at the final turn of the second lap, ploughing into the barriers, knocking him out of the grand prix and bringing out a red flag. 

Leclerc's crash was too much for some Ferrari fans to bear, seen on the television broadcast crying and needing to be consoled. 

All drivers were able to make their mandatory tyre change, which led to leader Russell, who took that position from surprise Alpine pole sitter Pierre Gasly on lap two, with hard compound tyres to get to the end of the race.

Antonelli, who started on hards, had to use the slightly quicker but less durable mediums for the rest of the race.

Russell held the lead off the restart, Verstappen moved into second as Gasly fell down the order, and Antonelli continued to pick his way through the field. 

By lap 16, Antonelli passed Verstappen and then he had the lead two laps later.

Antonelli and Russell would trade the lead over the next few laps, as Monza's powerful slipstream and the use of electrical power boosts, lead to drivers swapping positions in what has come to be called yo-yo racing.

Mercedes told their drivers to stop squabbling in a bid to distance themselves from Verstappen, who was just holding onto them. 

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll stopped just off the track on lap 28, resulting in a virtual safety car being called — and the decisive moment in the race.

Mercedes kept race leader Russell out on his hards, but brought Antonelli in for new mediums. 

When racing resumed, Antonelli was sixth and 15 seconds behind Russell with 24 laps to go.

With fresher tyres, Antonelli stormed back to the rear of his teammate, setting up an epic finish. 

The 20-year-old went onto the gravel on lap 49 in an unsuccessful attempt to take the lead.

On the next lap, Antonelli made no mistake and made the race-winning move to the delight of the Italian crowd.

"It was quite scary in the moment [going into the gravel]," Antonelli said of his gravel trip on lap 49. 

"I was like, 'maybe I lost my chance'. 

"Luckily we still had the pace and managed to bring it home."

Antonelli's lead over Russell in the drivers' championship now extends to 66 points. 

The mountain for Russell to win a maiden world championship this year just got steeper, and he is left with the disappointment of having his deficit extended despite starting 17 grid places ahead of Antonelli. 

Asked about Mercedes's decision to leave him on track during the virtual safety car, Russell said he did not think Antonelli would be called into the pits. 

"I thought we were both going to stay out, I was surprised to see him pitting," Russell said. 

"In the end, it was a roll of the dice both ways.

"In the moment, the team wouldn't have known which strategy was better. It made sense to split the cars, but in the end, Kimi had great pace."

Verstappen finished third, after a terrific late battle with Piastri for the final podium spot.

The Australian, however, was unable to hold onto fourth, losing that place to his teammate Norris on the final lap of the grand prix. 

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was sixth, pole sitter Gasly was seventh, and Racing Bulls youngster Arvid Lindblad placed eighth.

Franco Colapinto recovered from an early excursion into a gravel trap to place ninth for Alpine.

Japan's Yuki Tsunoda, driving for Racing Bulls while Liam Lawson fills in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, claimed 10th and one championship point. 

Relive all the action of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix in the blog below.