Sebastian Vettel has won his 18th race after claiming victory at the Italian Grand Prix by 9.59 seconds.

The Red Bull driver finished ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, who took second place, while Fernando Alonso finished in the final podium position.

There was drama right at the start of the race, with Tonio Liuzzi, Vitaly Petrov, Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello all involved in a crash which resulted in the safety car being deployed.

Vettel remained focused during the disturbance and the 24-year-old, who was on pole, went on to claim victory.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, with Michael Schumacher ending the race in fifth.

Vettel has now extended his lead over second-placed Alonso in the overall standings to 112 points, while a retirement from Mark Webber has seen Button join the Australian level in third place with 167 points each.