On lap 69 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria Max Verstappen sent his Red Bull up the inside of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, banged wheels, and snatched the lead of the race and ultimately the victory. This was a significant moment in Leclerc’s fledging F1 career. To that point he’d been refined, a bit too polite for the cutthroat world of Formula 1 racing.
But he learned from Austria and with it his mentality shifted. And it’s a good thing it did for he needed all of that ruthlessness in Monza. Ferrari arrived in Monza fresh off a win in Spa and with the knowledge that their car should be the favourite at Italy’s famed Cathedral of Speed. This was confirmed as they secured pole position with Leclerc on Saturday. The shambolic final few minutes of quali all drivers, except Carlos Sainz, missed the chance to set a laptime because of jockeying for a slipstream. It left Hamilton on the front row and Vettel down in fourth.
It was a bit of a nervy start for Leclerc who had to fend off Hamilton into the first chicane. But he held his own with Hamilton running within 1.5 seconds in second. While Bottas remained in third Vettel momentarily lost out to Nico Hulkenberg but quickly recovered fourth by passing the Renault down the start/finish straight on the start of lap 2.
Vettel’s failure to make inroads at the start wasn’t a particularly big problem as he held the front three well within view. However, a handful of laps later and seemingly out of the blue he spun in the middle of the Ascari chicane. The German rejoined the track and in doing so hit the Racing Point of Lance Stroll. While Stroll attempted his own recovery he too rejoined in an unsafe manner which forced Pierre Gasly into taking avoiding action in the Toro Rosso. Vettel was subsequently, and rightly, handed a ten second stop/go penalty for rejoining the circuit in an unsafe manner while Stroll was handed a drive-through penalty for his own infringement.
It spelled the end of Vettel’s race who ultimately trundled home in 13th. Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen too was given a ten second stop/go penalty for starting the race on the incorrect tyres. The Finn was forced into a pitlane start after a crash in quali and started on the medium compound whereas his run in Q2 and advancement to Q3 meant he was locked into starting on the soft compound. Newly minted Red Bull driver Alex Albon too was given a five-second time penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining a lasting advantage.
At the front Hamilton continued to hound the rear of Leclerc’s Ferrari but the Monagasque driver was more than equal to the task. There were a few chinks in the Leclerc-armour though. A lock-up into the first chicane late on meant he had to cut the corner, which allowed Hamilton ever closer. Leclerc close the door into the second chicane but crowding Hamilton towards the edge of the track. Opinion will undoubtedly be split on whether the move deserved a penalty but the stewards felt that it required no investigation and, therefore, no penalty. Here is where Leclerc’s experience in Austria stood him in good stead. Had he not learned from that scenario and vowed to take a more aggressive approach Hamilton could well have been passed and into the lead of the race.
Through all of this Leclerc supplied a master-class in absorbing pressure from Hamilton. Consider the factors: he is 21-years-old, in a Ferrari, at Monza, and with a five-time world champion glued to your gearbox. The level of pressure is off the charts and for Leclerc to take it in his stride the way he did is telling. Lest we forget this is only his second F1 season. He is a driver still very much in his infancy but this performance in Monza demonstrates an enormous potential if everything goes according to plan.
Hamilton himself locked up in the first chicane and lost his chance at taking the lead and the win. It was Valtteri Bottas’s chance next but even on fresher tyres Leclerc was too canny, and too quick in the straight. He held off both Mercs and sailed to a hugely popular win that sent the Tifosi into raptures.
While Bottas and Hamilton completed the top three Renault enjoyed their best day of the season with a fine fourth and fifth place for Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg respectively. Albon recovered from his earlier penalty to finish sixth ahead of Sergio Perez in seventh. Max Verstappen recovered to eighth from starting at the back of the grid while Antonio Giovinazzi finished ninth on home soil. Lando Norris completed the top ten for McLaren.
Ferrari and Leclerc will leave Italy having achieved something truly special. And while Mercedes were bested they are safe in the knowledge that extended their lead in the constructor’s championship heading into Singapore where they are expected to be extremely strong.
