- Amidst the crimson haze of Monza, Leclerc celebrated his victorious journey.
At the fiery haze of Formula 1's premier stage, with throngs of passionate fans adoring from below, Charles Leclerc relished every second of this triumphant victory. Driving with reckless abandon, he bestowed Ferrari an emotional peak of the year, securing a hometown win at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It had been half a decade since Ferrari tasted victory in the regal park. The victor then: Charles Leclerc himself.
In his twenties, Leclerc admitted, "I thought it wouldn't feel just as electrifying the second time around, but my goodness: The adrenaline in the final laps was akin to 2019," he expressed, "Mamma mia." He also applauded the fans in Italian, whom, as customary in Monza, transformed the entire start and finish stretch into a bodacious festivity zone. "When it comes to celebrations, we Italians are as imaginative as they come," remarked team leader Frédéric Vasseur.
It was a surprising and particularly brilliant triumph starting from the fourth position on the grid – no doubt. Ferrari and Leclerc chose a one-stop strategy that could have backfired at the finish line. However, Leclerc triumphantly earned his seventh Grand Prix victory, leaving McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris demoralized in the runner-up and third-place spots. Only one individual was undeniably in the pits of misery: championship leader Max Verstappen.
A week prior, he fought diligently to save the second spot behind Norris in the faltering Red Bull in Zandvoort. This time, he limped to a miserable sixth position with the gradually deteriorating and questionable RB19. His lead over Norris in the rankings dwindled further: 62 instead of the 70 before the Italian race, now reduced. Redemption seemed out of reach. Instead, Red Bull was making abnormally long pit stop times in its usually dominant tire change discipline.
"That's always detrimental, you lose an abundance of time," voiced Verstappen. "The entire race was disastrous. I struggled to maintain full power the entire race, we had other issues there too. We possess numerous hurdles that currently require our immediate attention," stated the Dutchman, stranded in a quagmire. In two weeks, Formula 1 ventures onto the urban circuit in Azerbaijan. Verstappen has been craving his next victory for six races.
That Red Bull's debacle in Monza was not subjected to a harsher reprisal was ultimately due to Verstappen's McLaren. Norris started from pole, vociferously defended it, but was then brutally attacked and usurped by Piastri. Leclerc also seized the moment in the first lap to initially slip into second position.
The race evolved into a duel between Piastri and Norris, who both underwent tire changes twice, while Ferrari elected a one-stop strategy with Leclerc and fourth-placed Carlos Sainz.
"A painful second place"
"It stings, I won't mince words: It inflicts immense pain," admitted Piastri, who looked set to be the undisputed victor for long stretches. "Disappointed" was Norris even more so. Instead of accumulating the full 25 points for the winner, he was restricted to 15. Three less than Piastri. Norris did, however, earn an additional point for the fastest lap. "We had the opportunity to clinch the victory, but Ferrari dared the gamble and succeeded. We must be content with second and third and reduced the gap," asserted McLaren's CEO Zak Brown.
Following the team's bewildering race strategies in Hungary and Piastri's win ahead of Norris there, it's the subsequent points that may be missing in the Norris vs. Verstappen championship showdown.
Seven additional Grand Prix remain, with three sprint choices still to be made. Leclerc is now edging closer to the championship. He lies only 24 points away from Norris in third place. "There are still numerous points up for grabs," emphasized Ferrari team leader Vasseur: "We shall persist."
Hülkenberg endured misfortune, Magnussen with race ban
For future Ferrari champion Lewis Hamilton, who has prevailed in Monza five times like Michael Schumacher, it was a fifth-place finish this time in the Mercedes. His teammate, George Russell, who started from third, completed the Silver Arrow sandwiched by Verstappen.
The only German regular driver finished 17th. Nico Hülkenberg's race came to an end after the first lap following a robust tenth-place finish in qualifying. Following an accident for which he was not culpable, he fell too far behind. His Haas teammate, Kevin Magnussen, fared even worse. The Dane famous for his aggressive driving style received two penalty points for a move and was subsequently banned from the next race, surpassing the limit of twelve penalty points, as affirmed by the race stewards.
Leclerc's victory over Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was a significant blow to McLaren, as their duo finished in the runner-up and third-place spots respectively. Despite starting from the fourth position on the grid, Leclerc triumphed, leaving Piastri feeling the pain of a close second place.
