Martin Brundle at Italian GP: Ferrari beats rivals to give Charles Leclerc victory as Oscar Piastri shows killer instinct | F1 News

Qualifying for the Italian GP at Monza was a cliff-hanger that produced the sixth closest on the grid in F1’s 74-year history.

Only 0.186 seconds cover, and it is very tight that the sixth man Lewis Hamilton, who has been the fastest in qualifying 104 times in 348 racing career F1, is open berating himself in the media pen for losing pole position. He even suggests that he is missed now and – who was recently announced for 2025 to sit at Mercedes – Andrea Kimi Antonelli will probably do a better job. You have to admire Lewis’ competitive spirit.

In the end, it is the McLaren team that has now locked the front row of Mercedes George Russell and Ferrari Charles Leclerc. We are set for an almighty race, with a 476-meter run from the pole position to the first braking point to the tight chicane making everyone feel nervous as usual. The opportunity versus the downward peril ratio is always on the negative side.

Unlike in more recent races, Lando Norris from his impressive pole position got a perfect launch, moving to the right to defend against teammate Oscar Piastri, who also gave the Australian a good slipstream to defend Russell.

Piastri then sliced ​​in front of Russell to defend the outer line to the first chicane which will quickly become George’s undoing, because he lost his grip under the McLaren gearbox and slewed sideways, leaving him to take the escape route and lose his position. He will also damage the front wing, which will impose the first stop on lap 11 for hard tires.

‘Piastri shows little interest in Norris title bid’

It looked like a perfect team play from the two McLaren boys who covered the whole road and got out of the danger zone comfortably in first and second. But not for long. Norris was cautious on the brakes going into the second chicane and Piastri sliced ​​down the outside of him. Norris was quick to release the brakes, but Piastri stuck to the outside and claimed the lead as he almost touched down.

Norris slid slightly sideways, which made him go out slowly and Charles Leclerc wasted no time until the grass to take second place to the first corner of Lesmo.

Piastri clearly has no interest in Norris’ potential world championship against Max Verstappen, which we saw in Hungary when he grabbed the lead at the first corner.

The racer in me admires this attitude. That’s why Piastri won the championship and finally won the race in an F1 car. The last thing that would please him is Norris becoming world champion in the same car. That’s not to say he won’t help at some point, and indeed he hasn’t helped here yet, but the driver’s mentality and killer instinct are important.

I remember saying in the comments in Hungary, if the roles were reversed, Piastri would have handed Norris the lead back, and I really don’t know the answer. I knew that many of the ruthless and selfish world champions I raced against would never have.

Although this is great for Piastri and Ferrari, it cannot be beneficial for the McLaren team. They could not control the race at that time, could not dictate the optimal speed for the tires and strategy, and worked together using DRS calls and pit stops to damage and damage the main rival, which was Ferrari. .

The Reds have aerodynamically trimmed the car with a little less drag and more top speed. This is perhaps not good for qualifying, or indeed tire preservation, but they felt it was more raceable.

McLaren will pit Norris for hard tires on lap 14, Ferrari will respond to Leclerc on lap 15, much to the anger of the young Monegasque because he lost second place to Norris and felt there was a long way to go with 38 laps remaining.

Piastri had enough of a lead that he didn’t need to pit until lap 16 and once again McLaren ran one and two and surely this one is guaranteed? It’s not like that

‘Red Bull losing form looks very strange’

Meanwhile Red Bull started Verstappen and Sergio Perez on hard compound tires in a counter strategy after their relatively low grid positions in seventh and eighth. With the front runners racing wheels and tires off each other this looks smart, especially in the presence of the safety car. But some pit stops on laps 22 and 23 respectively, and then the relatively poor speed and opting for a two-stop strategy will consign Red Bull to the sixth and eighth positions.

Max would call the post race car ‘monster’ and it all looked very strange. He dominated the early season, and last year at Monza Max won his 10th straight race at the canter. This year he finished 38 seconds behind the champion.

Mercedes were also not quick in the surprise race, Lewis finished 22 seconds off the lead and George, given his adventure, around 39 seconds.

The main story is ahead. Both McLaren drivers have complained about the front left tire and are struggling for front grip because of it. Norris also traveled on the escape route at the second ‘Roggia’ chicane. He played twice on lap 33, and Piastri also on lap 38.

Ferrari now have track position but surely they can’t make it to the end without changing tires again? Sainz struggled a bit and was caught by McLaren on new tires and dropped to fourth.

But at the front with four laps older tires than his teammate, Leclerc had a good lead and, although the McLarens advanced, as the laps went by it became clear that Piastri and Norris would have to catch him within two seconds of each lap for the overhaul. they. Everyone, not least the hugely supportive Italian fans, began to realize that it would be a glorious victory if Leclerc could drive the tires to the checkered flag.

Ferrari has played a blinder with one-stop, and Leclerc, despite clear reservations, has brilliantly delivered as needed. It’s not a unique strategy, nine of the 19 finishers one-stop, but it’s the right decision on the day providing cars and drivers can. They rolled the dice and won.

Many drivers said they did not think they could succeed in one stop, including two McLaren wheelsmiths. If they could have dictated the pace in the early stages with a full tank of fuel, they could have done it, but on the day, Ferrari were quick enough, and durable enough, to control the race. Cue the most amazing celebration on the best podium in motorsport.

‘Magnussen’s Baku ban is tough’

Alex Albon will claim another ninth place in a reasonably strong race for Williams, and a shout out to his new teammate Franco Colapinto who finished 12th in his debut GP, 14 seconds behind Albon.

Kevin Magnussen finished 10th in the battle for Haas despite receiving a 10-second penalty for causing a collision. Along with the 10 seconds, he also collected two penalty points on his license which brought him to a critical 12, meaning he will have to miss the next race in Baku. This seems harsh, points should only be applied for serious driving errors, and if not, the time penalty itself should be sufficient.

With eight races remaining, including three Sprint weekends and additional points available, Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship. That could have been 52 if McLaren had forced Piastri to produce recently. He doesn’t want to do that, and he feels that Norris doesn’t necessarily want to win the championship by having a loyal wingman, but it will be interesting to see what happens if he really wants to put pressure on Red Bull and Max. .

The Constructors’ Championship is a different proposition as McLaren are now just eight points behind Red Bull. But Ferrari is also only 39 points behind, and in the current form that looks like the current battle between Ferrari and McLaren for the top honor and the first garage in the pitlane next year.

We are still ready for a happy ending to this season.

Formula 1 leaves mainland Europe for Baku and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 13-15, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with Sports Month Membership NOW – No contract, cancel anytime