Charles Leclerc And Ferrari Deliver A Win For The Ages At The F1 Italian Grand Prix

Moments after the checkered flag flew at the end of a thrilling Italian Grand Prix at historic Monza, barriers opened and thousands of fans — the overwhelming majority clad in scarlet— poured onto the track toward the podium. And with good reason.

To cheer their conquering hero, as Charles Leclerc had done the improbable, if not the impossible, and won the Italian Grand Prix.

In a sport that favors the bold Ferrari was boldest on Sunday, rolling the dice on a decision to leave both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. out on aging hard tires, opting for a one-stop approach when their rivals had all made the double dip. It was a calculated risk, as far as those go, given where their rivals were on the track. If it had failed, they likely would have seen Leclerc and Sainz fall only as far as third and fourth, still an improvement over where they started.

But every dice roll in this sport carries risk, and nothing is ever guaranteed. And while the speedy McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris eventually caught Sainz, they could not catch the man from Monaco, who brought his SF-24 home first, on 38-lap old hard tires.

A victory that sent the Tifosi into a joyous uproar, and writing another stunning chapter in what is becoming a magical F1 season.

A season filled with so many beautiful and artistic moments has seen Leclerc holding the paintbrush for two of them. First was his win at home, as the man from Monaco finally conquered the circuit where he learned to drive, his hometown streets of Monte Carlo.

Then came Sunday. Leclerc had delivered a win at Monza before for Ferrari, but this year’s was different. A win at Monza when Ferrari were clear underdogs, and a win when he needed to push his car, his tires, and himself beyond the limits.

“Today I did not expect it going to the race. I thought that we would struggle a bit more compared to the McLaren, but also compared to the Mercedes. that seemed to have a really good pace on Friday. However, after a few laps, I saw and I felt the car was in a good place,” said Leclerc in the FIA Press Conference following the race. “Oscar maybe was a little bit quicker. It was difficult to see Lando’s pace as he was behind. Then once we got undercut, I was like, ‘OK, maybe we are losing the win there.’ But then once both pitted, I actually picked up quite a lot of front grip, having the free air in front. And I was, as they said, being the last car, I didn’t have much to lose by trying the one-stop.

“But we did a really, really good job with that front left, which has been very, very tricky for everybody. We had a lot of front graining, but managed to take that front grip again. And that helped us to win today. To stand up on that podium in front of all the tifosi after such a week, because it’s a very tiring one… It’s an incredible feeling to be racing for Ferrari in Monza, but it’s also very tiring. And to be able to win here is extremely special.”

There were many winners Sunday at Monza — as well as a few losers — but none bigger than a driver, his entire team, and the thousands of supporters clad in scarlet cheering their names.

Forza Ferrari

Winners: McLaren

All told, it was a solid day at the office for McLaren. With Piastri coming in second and Norris third — and picking up an extra point for posting the fastest lap of the Italian Grand Prix — McLaren pulled to within just eight points of Red Bull atop the F1 Constructors’ Championship. With eight race weekends remaining, that gap is sure to narrow further, and it seems only a matter of time before McLaren pulls into the lead in that fight.

Additionally, with Max Verstappen managing just a sixth-place finish, Norris inched closer to the Red Bull driver at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings. Norris now trails Verstappen by just 62 points.

Yes, a solid day for McLaren in Monza, nothing else to see here …

Losers: McLaren

You did not think we were truly going to leave things there, did you?

McLaren has a pair of double podiums this year, the first coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix and the second coming on Sunday. Yet, both those races left the team facing more questions than answers. At the Hungaroring the questions centered on how McLaren handled team orders, and their instructions to Norris that he pull aside and let Piastri retake the lead in the closing stages. While they put together a one-two finish in Hungary and banked 43 points that weekend — the most of any team in the sport — the result left some disappointed.

Sunday was another disappointing double podium if such a thing can truly be found in this sport. Despite locking out the front row in qualifying, McLaren was forced to settle for second and third. Despite capturing his second-straight pole position, Norris still has yet to convert a P1 start into an opening-lap lead. And on Sunday, the driver who took that lead was his teammate Piastri, who caught him at the first chicane and shuffled Norris down into third.

They were up running one-two midway through the race, but with each driver experiencing severe degradation on their left front tires, they were each forced to pit a second time, leaving the door open for Ferrari’s bold gamble.

In the end, both drivers were brutally open and honest regarding their disappointment.

“Yeah, it hurts. I’m not going to lie, it hurts a lot. We did a lot of things right today, you know, there were a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race,” said Piastri trackside to Nico Rosberg. “Yeah, from the position we were in with the tires looking like they did, doing a one-stop seemed like a very risky call, and in the end it was right. So, yeah, very, very happy with the pace, with the race that I managed to achieve. Just when you finish second, it hurts.”

“Pretty disappointing. Yeah, which is obvious from the outside even,” described Norris in the FIA Press Conference. “I mean, Charles drove a great race, honestly. Hard to know if we could have done what he did today, but they deserved it. Yeah, both Oscar and Charles drove a good race. So, yeah, disappointing, starting from pole and ending third, especially when I think the pace was very strong. So, a shame, but that’s what it is.”

It is important to remember just how far McLaren has progressed in the past 18 months. At the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix Piastri placed 20th, and Norris finished 17th, two laps down. A double points result seemed light years away, let alone something like a double podium. Sunday’s result in Monza is still a good result for the team, and they are now within single digits of Red Bull.

But Sunday could have been a great result, and they could have left the Temple of Speed behind with the outright lead in that fight.

And the questions that lingered after Hungary, remain in the air following Monza. How will they handle their two drivers down the stretch? Will they at some point prioritize Norris when they can, and give him a boost in the Drivers’ Championship? Will Buxton from F1TV, the brilliant longtime F1 analyst, raised those questions and more following the Italian Grand Prix, noting that on the final lap when it was clear that Piastri was not going to catch Leclerc, why not swap their two drivers? A second-place finish from Norris would have seen him pick up three more points on Verstappen:

For Apple News readers, you can see Buxton’s comments in full at the above link.

McLaren now has two long weeks until Baku, and a lot to figure out. Again, their progress from the start of 2023 until this moment is impressive, but Sunday could have been even better for them than it was.

Winners: Williams

A tumultuous week at Williams came to a close with a pair of points from Alexander Albon, and a strong debut from their new rookie driver Franco Colapinto.

The week began with Colapinto’s shocking promotion, as the team announced that he would replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the F1 season. But as the week came to a close it ended with Albon crossing the line tenth — and being promoted to ninth following a penalty handed down to Kevin Magnussen — and Colapinto finishing 12th, despite starting 18th.

It is also important to note that while Ferrari is reveling in the glory of their one-stop strategy, which fueled Leclerc’s win and Sainz’s P4, Williams pulled off the same strategy. Both drivers began the day on the medium compound, with Colapinto pitting on Lap 17 for a set of hards, and Albon following him on the next lap to make the same change.

Both drivers guided their FW46s home from there, with Albon finishing in the points and Colapinto impressing in his debut.

“It was a nerve-racking afternoon but with a great finish! After our disappointing weekend last week, the team has bounced back with a solid performance. Alex was outstanding today, making the one-stop strategy work, holding off Alonso, who was on a two-stop, and sticking close to Magnussen in front of us, who had a 10-second penalty. His P9 is well-deserved, and he will be very happy to be back in the points,” said Williams Sporting Director Sven Smeets in the team’s post-race report. “Franco had a great first race, starting from P18 and making his way past a few cars at the beginning. He also made the one-stop strategy work with a well-managed long stint on the Hard tires. He can look back on an impressive first weekend and a well-deserved P12 in the race.”

Losers: Red Bull

Photo by Peter Fox – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Alarms were already sounding around the Red Bull garage following the Dutch Grand Prix and Norris’ dominant 22-second win over Verstappen.

But if there was a silver lining for Red Bull a week ago, it was the layout in Zandvoort. The tight and twisty circuit that offers plenty of downforce seemed ideal for the MCL38, and Monza might be more fertile ground for Red Bull and the RB20.

That was not the case.

Verstappen managed just a sixth-place finish, with teammate Sergio Pérez coming home eighth. For a moment on Sunday Verstappen had an opportunity to slow up Norris, who was charging up the field behind him after his second pit stop.

But Verstappen was unable to put up much of a fight, and could only watch as the MCL38 rocketed by him on the main straight.

Now the alarms around Red Bull are on par with a five-alarm fire. Dr. Helmut Marko was one of the first to air his concerns, telling De Telegraaf that the RB20 might not be competitive again until the United States Grand Prix in October. Then it was Verstappen himself, who noted that the current version of the RB20 is a “monster” before declaring that both the Constructors’ Championship, and the Drivers’ Championship, are under direct threat.

Making matters worse, Verstappen conceded following the race that due to an engine issue, he was not able to use full power down the stretch Sunday.

“It doesn’t help that you can’t run full power for most of the race with the engine because we had an issue,” said Verstappen. “So yeah, all in all a pretty bad race. [The engine issue] is really bad at the moment and, before Baku, we have a lot of work to do to basically change the whole car.”

Red Bull has eight race weekends left to fend off McLaren, and Verstappen’s lead over Norris remains significant.

But if their problems truly do linger until Austin, both championships might truly slip away from them.

Winners: Formula 1

As noted at the outset, this Formula 1 season is delivering on multiple fronts.

And it could not come at a better time for the sport and its fans.

Just think of the moments this season has provided: Seven different Grand Prix winners. Leclerc breaking through in Monaco and tasting victory again on Sunday at Monza. Norris capturing his maiden victory, and Piastri later securing his. Lewis Hamilton enjoying his first win since 2021, and in his final British Grand Prix with Mercedes.

Add in what looks to be a pair of title fights — Red Bull versus McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship and Verstappen versus Norris in the Drivers’ — and you have the makings of a season we will be talking about for ages.

Just think, we have eight more race weekends ahead of us.

Savor every moment, because we are seeing something magical each week.