Charles Leclerc parlayed a brilliant one-stop pit strategy and home-track advantage to overcome the faster McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and win the Pirelli Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday (Sept. 1). McLaren’s 2-3 finish along with Norris’ fastest lap point brought the team to within eight points of Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Leclerc said. “Actually, I thought the first [win at Monza] would have just felt like this, and the second time, if there was a second time, wouldn’t feel as special. But, my God, the emotions in the last few laps… exactly the same like in 2019.”
“Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year,” he continued. “Obviously, I want to win as many races as possible and the world championship as soon as possible, but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. It’s so, so special.”
Carlos Sainz finished fourth on his 30th birthday, with Lewis Hamilton taking fifth ahead of Max Verstappen in sixth. George Russell was seventh, Sergio Perez finished a typical eighth, while Williams’ Alexander Albon placed ninth ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas in 10th.
In the Drivers Championship, Norris’ 16 points at Monza trimmed Verstappen’s lead down to 62 points, 303 to 241. Leclerc is third with 217 points, 20 ahead of Piastri in fourth.
In the constructor standings, Red Bull leads McLaren by only eight points, 446 to 438, with Ferrari well in the hunt in third with 407.
The Race
Finally, Norris started well at lights out and held serve, leading Piastri into turn 1, while Russell locked up and was forced to take to the runoff area. Russell’s Mercedes also suffered front wing damage.
But Norris’ lead was short-lived, as Piastri attacked in the second chicane, taking the lead from his teammate who also lost second to Leclerc. Not an ideal start for Norris, but on the bright side, he has experience winning a race after blowing the lead on the first lap.
Further back, the two Red Bulls started on hard tires and Verstappen was quick for the first time this weekend, as in quick to complain that Hamilton didn’t leave him room at the start.
Up front, Piastri’s lead was less than a second over Leclerc by lap 6, with Norris about a second back of the Ferrari. Norris was a safe distance ahead of Sainz in fourth, so Norris was content to conserve his tires for a bit before making a run towards the leaders.
Verstappen, in sixth, held station while the cars ahead of him pressed on their medium tires. Tire wear became crucial to determining the outcome of the race and Red Bull planned to make up for what they lacked in pace with some strategic acumen.
Yuki Tsunoda retired on lap 8, the first car out of the race after his car was damaged in a collision with Nico Hulkenberg. The incident was the beginning of a contest between Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Magnussen to see who would be named “Most Maniacal Driver of the Day.”
Magnussen won after receiving a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly. The accompanying two penalty points mean Magnussen has 12 and faces a ban at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sept. 15.
By lap 12, Piastri had increased his lead over Leclerc to nearly 2 seconds, with Norris about 1.3 seconds behind the Ferrari. Russell dropped to 16th after pitting to replace his damaged wing and swap his medium tires for hard tires.
Norris pitted on lap 15 for hard tires, looking for the undercut and likely looking for a two-stop race. Norris returned to the track in ninth and quickly cleared Esteban Ocon, and made his way into the all-important clean air.
Leclerc and Hamilton pitted a lap later, and the Norris undercut worked as the Ferrari came out behind the McLaren. Piastri pitted on lap 17 and emerged in fourth, ahead of his teammate, with the Williams of Albon between the two.
Sainz now led, with the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez in second and third, none of which had made a pit stop.
McLaren radioed to Norris with the message “papaya rules,” which in the McLaren playbook meant he was free to race Piastri.
Sainz pitted for hard tires on lap 20, handing the lead to Verstappen. Norris, in fourth, was less than 2 seconds behind Piastri in third, and there seemed to be some team order drama for McLaren in the making.
Verstappen finally pitted, coming in on lap 23, and a slow 6.2-second stop for hard tires brought him out in eighth. Another stop would be needed for the Red Bull. With a sixth or worse result looming for Verstappen, would this change McLaren’s intentions, knowing that 25 points for Norris would be much more valuable than 25 for Piastri?
After the Red Bulls pitted, Piastri assumed the lead, and his lead over Norris was over 2 seconds by lap 26. The Australian was putting down a series of fastest laps; was Paistri intent on building a large enough lead that McLaren would be hard-pressed to tell Piastri to let Norris through later in the race, a result more beneficial to McLaren’s driver’s championship hopes?
On lap 30, the order was Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez, Russell, Fernando Alonso and Ocon.
Norris made a huge error on lap 32, entering the runoff area at turn 4. The mistake left Norris almost 5 seconds behind Piastri and almost into the clutches of Leclerc. It was likely the end of Norris’ hopes for the win, and his job now was to help preserve a possible McLaren 1-2 finish. Norris’ only hope now was a disastrous upcoming pit stop for Piastri.
Norris pitted a lap later for another set of hard tires and emerged in sixth behind Verstappen. The Briton had lots of ground to make up, and his friend and sometimes nemesis in his way.
McLaren asked Piastri on lap 38 if he thought he could finish the race without another stop. Piastri answered in the negative, citing the degradation in his left front.
Piastri pitted a lap later and returned to the track in third, about 2 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who was less than a second ahead of Norris. Norris hounded Verstappen for two laps before completing the overtake down the front straight. Norris was four seconds behind Piastri in third, who trailed Leclerc and Sainz.
Ferrari had committed to their one-stop strategy, and there was no turning back now. Leclerc’s lead over Piastri was about 14 seconds, with Sainz serving as a barrier between the two. Piastri had fresher tires and a clearly faster car, but was 10 laps enough for the Australian to conquer two Ferraris at Monza, no less?
Piastri was quickly within DRS range of Sainz on lap 44, and the Ferrari was a sitting duck, with Piastri making the overtake on lap 46. Leclerc was 12 seconds ahead with seven laps remaining.
Meanwhile, Norris would soon be on Sainz’s gearbox, and the pass was inevitable. Norris needed to maximize his result while hoping Verstappen stayed behind Hamilton in sixth. Hamilton was 16 seconds ahead, so a Verstappen sixth was likely.
Norris cleared Sainz down the front straight on lap 49 and into third. Leclerc’s lead was 8 seconds with four laps left, while Norris trailed Piastri by about four seconds. Now a question arose for McLaren: if a Leclerc win was inevitable, would McLaren order Piastri to let Norris through for second and six more points in his pursuit of Verstappen?
The anticipatory Tifosi could sense a monumental Ferrari win, and their roars were audible over the television broadcast. With a lap to go, Leclerc’s lead was over four seconds and an Italian national party was just moments away, barring a disaster for Ferrari, of which they are certainly capable.
Leclerc crossed the finish line over 2 seconds ahead of Piastri with Norris joining his teammate on the podium and also adding an extra point for the fastest lap on the final circuit.
The Good
Leclerc’s victory may go down in the annals of Ferrari lore as a defining moment for the team. It’s a win for Ferrari in Italy, so, naturally, it’s massive for the morale of the team and supporters alike. But with the win, Ferrari also jumped into the fight for the Constructors Championship. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to overtake both Red Bull and McLaren, but it does bode well for the team’s future. Combine all of that with the fact that Hamilton will be in Ferrari red next year, and excitement and expectations are sky-high.
Not only did Magnussen score a point in 10th for Haas, but the icing on the cake was that the Haas team could leave Monza promptly without paying a safe passage fee to some Russian strongman. Maybe, in the future, Haas should refrain from accepting money from a billionaire who wants to buy his nepotism baby a seat on the team. But I get it – dirty money is what makes the F1 world go around.
Hats off to Franco Colapinto, who, in his first F1 start, drove his Williams to a 12th. It’s not quite in the points, but still a solid result and bodes well for the Argentine’s future in F1. Colapinto has arrived, at just about the same time Logan Sargeant’s merchandise arrived in second-hand stores.
The Bad
It has to be very embarrassing for McLaren to be out-strategized by Ferrari, the kings of being out-strategized. McLaren may have been too preoccupied with a 1-2 finish and in what order they wanted their drivers in said 1-2 finish to think that anything less than a victory was possible. It was, indeed, possible, and when McLaren finally realized it was possible, it was too late to react.
Quite simply, McLaren was outsmarted. And should we expect anything else? McLaren is the team to beat in F1 now, and their biggest challenger is themselves.
Is Red Bull in a slump, or is the team in a free fall? Verstappen is winless in the last six races, and Perez cannot pick up any slack. Verstappen has recently labeled the RB20 “undriveable” and said after Monza that “both championships are unrealistic.” I’m not sure how many languages Verstappen speaks, but hyperbole must be one of them.
Red Bull may be facing the end of a run, but it’s not the end of the world. While the Constructors Championship may be a lost cause, Verstappen’s hold on the Drivers’ Championship is still strong. I think Verstappen can win at least one of the final eight races, and even if he doesn’t, McLaren will find a way to leave points on the table. And Mercedes and Ferrari are perfectly capable of winning races and impacting the drivers’ title one way or another.
Grid Walk Moments
Brundle ran into Jean Alesi and Alesi’s former Ferrari teammate Gerhard Berger, and while the trio reminisced about the time they spent in F1 not winning races, the subject of Berger tossing Ayrton Senna’s briefcase out of a helicopter at Monza came up. Like everyone, I have questions. Like, WTF? And is this real or the result of some Berger fever dream? And what was in the briefcase? And who was piloting this chopper? Did this briefcase survive the fall? And if so, who has it, and did it appear in “Pulp Fiction?” I don’t know if these questions will ever be answered, but I would love for ESPN’s “30 For 30” to give it a try.
Former F1 dictator Bernie Ecclestone was on the grid. The former CEO of the Formula One Group is 93 years old and looking every bit of it. Brundle asked Ecclestone if he was enjoying retirement. Ecclestone said, “No.” Brundle wisely made it a quick conversation before Ecclestone could say something racist, sexist, elitist, or just generally ignorant.
And, for his exemplary work on the “Grid Walk” this season, Brundle was commended by many at Monza, including Phillip from Australia, and some random young lady. It would be nice if the broadcast could inform us that these people are not famous, because I, like you probably, was racking my brain trying to determine if these people were contestants on “Big Brother” of “Love Island,” or just regular civilians with grid passes. If there was any evidence for restricting grid access, that was it.
Finally, Juan Pablo Montoya was at Monza, and likely somewhere on that grid, so doggone it, Martin should have gone and found that man, stuck a microphone in his face, and asked him, “Hey JPM, guess who I ran into?” And when he replied, “Who?” is when he should have answered, “A jet dryer.”
The Disappointing
Just look at Norris’ face and body language in the cool-down room after the race. It was the very definition of disappointing. And Piastri’s was no different. McLaren may be the only team on the grid capable of having two drivers that let the same race win slip away. It must have been hard for Leclerc to be ecstatic when surrounded by these two sour-faced whiners. In Norris’ and Piastri’s defense, it is the look you should have when there is a bad taste in your mouth.
Furthermore, the dynamic between Norris and Piastri seems troubling. I get the feeling they don’t like each other, and I blame that more on the team than the individuals. I don’t claim to know what goes on behind closed doors at McLaren, but it seems like McLaren has no idea how to manage two drivers who refuse to give an inch to the other. And the result of it all may be losing a Drivers Championship that the team can clearly win.
The Driver
This is easy. Leclerc exceeded expectations at Zandvoort (Aug. 25) with a third-place result. At Monza, he knocked expectations out of the park, winning Ferrari’s home race and solidifying his place as a hero to the Ferrari faithful.
And it’s not like this race was handed to him, although McLaren made his job a little easier. Leclerc did take advantage of the Norris-Piastri scrap for the lead on the first lap to snatch second place. That overtake alone played a large part in making Ferrari’s one-stop strategy possible. And Leclerc drove the final 15 laps of the race on older tires, knowing that a single mistake would leave him susceptible to the faster Piastri.
Leclerc may never have to buy anything ever again in Italy, and considering the cost of maintaining a residence in Monte Carlo, that may come in handy.
The Results (Pirelli Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale Monza)
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 53 | 1:14:40.727 | 25 |
2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 53 | +2.664s | 18 |
3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 53 | +6.153s | 16 |
4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 53 | +15.621s | 12 |
5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 53 | +22.820s | 10 |
6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 53 | +37.932s | 8 |
7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 53 | +39.715s | 6 |
8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 53 | +54.148s | 4 |
9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 53 | +67.456s | 2 |
10 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 53 | +68.302s | 1 |
11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 53 | +68.495s | 0 |
12 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | 53 | +81.308s | 0 |
13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 53 | +93.452s | 0 |
14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
18 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
NC | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 7 | DNF | 0 |
Note – Norris scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo received a 5-second time penalty for forcing another driver off-track and a further 10-second time penalty for failing to serve the first penalty correctly. Magnussen received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. |
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