WATCH: Enjoy the race start at Monza as Leclerc fends off Russell and Verstappen charges up the order

Charles Leclerc sparked cheers from the tifosi as he maintained his pole position advantage at the start of the Italian Grand Prix, while championship leader Max Verstappen rose from seventh to third in a handful of corners.

Ferrari driver Leclerc defended robustly from Mercedes rival George Russell as the field bolted off the line and thundered into Monza’s first chicane, with Daniel Ricciardo getting the jump on McLaren team mate Lando Norris.

LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the 2022 Italian Grand Prix

Meanwhile, Verstappen made light work of the cars directly ahead of him – the Red Bull man having taken a grid penalty – to shoot up the order to P4 by the end of the first lap, before picking off Ricciardo and setting after leaders Leclerc and Russell.

Enjoy the race start for the Italian Grand Prix in the video player above.