Leclerc paints the town red with dream win at Monza

Charles Leclerc’s victory dreams turned into reality at the Italian Grand Prix, with Ferrari rolling the strategy dice to outsmart the quicker McLaren outfit in front of the passionate Tifosi.

A race with its fair share of highs and lows, Round 16 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza turned into a Grand Prix of the ages for the unsuspecting Ferrari fans who expected a clean-cut McLaren 1-2.

Second-place finisher Oscar Piastri also had his heart set on claiming the top step, being willed on by his rapid pace and 1/8th Italian heritage after stealing the lead on the first lap. 

Becoming infamous for his poor starts, Lando Norris unwillingly contributed to his teammate’s hopes as his own race fell apart at Turn 4.

Boldly lunging into the tight chicane, Piastri relied upon a level-headed response from the demoted #4, with Norris braking with just metres to spare before the duo would have made contact.

The halted rhythm cost Norris another position to Leclerc as the field travelled into the Lesmos, bringing Ferrari right into the fight during the first stint of the race. 

As the laps ticked by, Piastri remained in the race lead, however, not out of threat from Leclerc within DRS range and setting fastest laps behind.

But McLaren was on the case, pitting Norris to successfully undercut the #16 on Lap 15.

Charles Leclerc was audibly frustrated with his team’s strategy calls to pit right after, questioning their choice to play into the undercut.

At the same time, the stewards were busy dishing out time penalties to Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Penalised for running Hulkenberg off the road on the run to Ascari, Ricciardo was handed a five-second penalty, but after failing to correctly serve it during his first pitstop as a crew member touched his car too early, the Australian suffered an additional 10-second hit.

Dust sprays as Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg battle during the Italian GP. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

Shifting from victim to perpetrator, Hulkenberg got his revenge on the Australian’s teammate by ending Yuki Tsunoda’s Italian Grand Prix at the first corner.

Able to make his way back to the pitlane, Tsunoda was instructed to retire the car as Hulkenberg was shortly informed of his 10-second penalty. 

Fellow Haas driver Magnussen was also dealt a 10-second penalty, incurring two penalty points which now take him over the 12-month threshold and see him set to miss the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a race ban. 

The penalty came at Turn 4, with the Dane told off for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly after carrying too much speed and ambition into the single-file chicane. 

Fuelled by frustration, Daniel Ricciardo put on a valiant charge through the field after rejoining the race in P18.

Battling closely with Gasly, the Australian had a look down the inside of Turn 1, however, the move would be cemented in Sector 2 after the Alpine was forced to hand the place back to Ricciardo.

Instantly, Ricciardo had Valtteri Bottas in his sights, clearing the Sauber down the main straight in a relatively simple move for P12.

From the halfway point onwards, however, the #3’s race was stagnant.

He remained in P12 as he crossed the line, dropping down to P13 and promoting rookie Franco Colapinto after his penalties were applied.

Picking up damage in a Lap 1 “misjudgement”, George Russell’s primary competitor across the 53 laps was Sergio Perez.

The rivals spent the entire race with each other in their sights with tense moments at Turns 1, 4 and the Lesmos leading to many complaints and frustrations being aired on their radios in the middle stint of the race. 

Back out front, the fight for the lead momentarily settled after the first round of pitstops was completed, with the primary reason being McLaren’s “Papaya rules”.

Oscar Piastri battles with Lando Norris during the Italian GP. Image: Sam Bagnall / LAT Images.

The “Papaya rules”, meaning Piastri and Norris were allowed to race within the agreed parameters, saw the #4 given the green light to attack his first-placed teammate, but, as the #81 picked up the pace that became a difficult task.

Norris’ error at Turn 4 also didn’t help his case, instead extending the interval to five seconds while he fell back into Leclerc’s DRS reach.

Acknowledging defeat on that front, the McLaren pit wall called their second-running driver in for another stop on Lap 32, with Piastri also doing so six laps later.

A long stop minutely impacted Piastri’s victory hunt, allowing Norris to come back into play after disposing of a weak Max Verstappen.

With 10 laps remaining, reality struck the McLaren pit wall that the Ferrari duo ahead were taking the risk with a one-stop strategy.

Sitting in second place, Carlos Sainz’s shredded tyres first put on on Lap 19 looked anything but capable of holding off the McLarens as he affirmed his “front left [was] nearly gone, but I guess we try”.

Braving McLaren’s raw pace down the main straight, Sainz managed to hold Piastri off all the way to the third sector where he was passed into the Ascari chicane on Lap 45. 

Accepting the loss, Sainz was instantly back on the defence as Norris ran two seconds back on the final podium place.

One lap later, the interval was halved, and soon enough Norris was just five-tenths behind the vulnerable birthday boy. 

Not impressing the solely red crowd, Norris completed an easy move on Sainz into Turn 1, ruining Ferrari’s extended dream of a double home podium.

Ahead, Piastri had full belief that his tyres advantage would carry him all the way to the win, however, the fresh rubber was nothing in comparison to the roaring Tifosi.

Ferrari team members celebrate as Charles Leclerc crosses the finish line at the Italian GP. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

With five laps to go, Leclerc’s race lead was 8.3 seconds, with three laps to go it was seven seconds, and as the home hero took the chequered flag, the gap was irrelevant as the flares were lit, the flags were waving and the Tifosi flooded under the iconic Monza podium.

Surrounded by the frowning Papaya duo, Charles Leclerc’s smile was wide enough to compensate after saying the win was just as sweet as his 2019 triumph, with a week off before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix providing the perfect opportunity for the country to celebrate.

Also welcoming a short break will be Colapinto whose rushed first week as an F1 driver ended on a high.

Colapinto finished the Italian Grand Prix in P13, inheriting a position after penalties had been applied to claim twelfth in his F1 debut.

Additionally, the Argentine completed the race without being lapped, an achievement his predecessor rarely accomplished. 

After a perfect conclusion to the European portion of the calendar, eight final fly-away races now lie ahead of the grid, with the first kicking off in Baku across September 13-15.

Image: Andy Hone / LAT Images

Italian Grand Prix Results:

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