Leclerc takes remarkable Ferrari home win

Leclerc takes remarkable Ferrari home win: Analysis of the Italian Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

Whilst McLaren arrived in Monza still glowing from a dominant victory last week, the eyes of the home fans – the Tifosi as they are known – were firmly on Ferrari. It wasn’t just a special livery in Monza that was different about the car, a series of recent upgrades aimed to propel the team into more consistent podiums and wins. Red Bull, on the other hand, were looking to reverse a downward spiral of performance that has put what was previously thought to be a guaranteed world championship year for them in some considerable jeopardy.

The famous “Temple of Speed” just outside Milan is exactly that; long straights and high-speed corners that favours outright straight-line pace. It’s unique characteristics and the close nature of recent races meant that realistically any of the top four teams in the championship would have fancied their chances for a win. There was some additional uncertainty, as the track has undertaken some major improvements including a complete resurfacing, which was likely to have an impact on tyre wear, and therefore race strategy.
If the times from qualifying were anything to go by, then we were indeed in for a close fight at the front. There was less than 0.2 seconds between the top six on the grid. Rather remarkably, neither Red Bull were in that top six, with Verstappen and Perez only managing seventh and eighth on the grid, almost half a second behind the top group. At the top, it was the two McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri who locked out the front row, but they had Russell and Leclerc on the second row just a whisker behind on the timing sheets, followed by Sainz and Hamilton.

As the race got underway, initially the two McLarens got off well. However, just a few corners in Piastri put in a surprise move on Norris in the chicane to take the lead, unsettling the pace of Norris who was then overtaken by Leclerc. Sainz and Hamilton both overtook Russell, who was suffering damage to his front wing.

As the race settled down, teams were split between whether to plan a one or two stop strategy. It would be a factor that would dominate the race. Lando Norris was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 15, with Leclerc having to react the following lap. That cost Leclerc a place vs Norris, whilst Piastri’s stop the following lap enabled him to remain in the lead. By lap 20, everyone had stopped except for the two Red Bulls on the hard tyres, who pitted five laps later. As the second stint of the race progressed, it became clear that the majority were looking at the possibility of two stops. Norris was the first to go again on lap 35, followed by his teammate and the Mercedes and the Red Bulls. Ferrari, however remained on track.

As every lap went by, it became more and more likely that Ferrari were trying to get to the end without another stop and with ten laps to go, it was obvious that the fight was to be between two Ferraris desperately trying to manage tyres versus McLarens on much fresher rubber. Leclerc was upfront, then Sainz followed by Piastri, Norris, then Hamilton and Verstappen. The gap for Piastri to catch up was 12 seconds, with Norris just under five seconds behind that. Piastri took Sainz with seven laps to go and Norris then followed two laps later. With four laps to go, Leclerc still had a gap of seven seconds. The local fans suddenly twigged that victory was close. The roars of the crowd over the top of the cars was incredible, growing in crescendo as each lap was completed.