Monza — Max Verstappen won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to move closer to a second consecutive Formula One championship.
Verstappen won his first Grand Prix at Monza and his fifth in a row after battling from eighth on the starting grid to finish ahead of Charles Leclerc on another challenging day for Ferrari.
After Daniel Ricciardo’s engine failed and he was forced to the side of the track, the drivers had to complete the final six circuits with the safety car, eliciting jeers from the audience and frustration from Ferrari.
However, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is 116 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings and will be able to defend his title in Singapore next month after winning his eleventh race of the season despite a grid penalty on Friday.
Verstappen told reporters, “It was terrible; everyone likes to finish under the green flag, but we ran out of laps.”
However, I had new softs, so I wasn’t really concerned.
The massed columns of red in the seats booed loudly when the vehicles crossed the finish line because they were denied the opportunity to see their man Leclerc attempt to pass the powerful Verstappen, who was also jeered by Italian fans on the podium.
“The conclusion was disheartening; I wished there might have been a little more of racing at the end; unfortunately, we finished second due to what occurred beforehand,” remarked Leclerc.
The Monegasque lost to Verstappen despite starting on pole position, but stated after the race that it had been a “good weekend overall” despite Ferrari’s botched strategy to switch from soft to medium tyres during an early virtual safety car.
“I believe we all had doubts; if I hadn’t done it, I believe Max would have,” stated Leclerc.
“It was a bit unfortunate because the virtual safety car ended in the middle of the pit lane, so there was no advantage to stopping at that time, and from then on we were on the back foot.”
Mercedes’ George Russell completed the podium, and Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz advanced from 18th on the starting row to fourth place.
Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, also raced from the back to finish fifth, while Nyck de Vries, making his F1 debut as a substitute for Williams’ Alex Albon, finished ninth and gained points.
Hamilton later told Sky Sport Italia that the finish “brought back memories” of last year’s contentious conclusion in Abu Dhabi, where Verstappen stole the championship on the final lap of the season.
“This is the rule that should apply, correct? So only once in the history of the sport has the rule not been followed “stated Hamilton.
Leclerc began on the pole and repelled an early attempt by Russell to pass him to maintain first place, while Verstappen surged through to second by lap five.
Verstappen assumed the lead on lap 13 after the virtual safety car was activated due to Sebastian Vettel’s accident and Charles Leclerc’s pit stop, a decision that ultimately lost Ferrari the race.
Verstappen pitted on lap 26 to switch from softs to mediums and restarted the race just behind Leclerc with the same compound on which the Ferrari driver had completed 13 laps.
This tyre wear became decisive when Leclerc gave the victory to Verstappen by switching back to soft tires seven circuits later.
Ricciardo’s race finished with six laps remaining and his car stranded beside the track, allowing the other drivers to pit in anticipation of the safety car.
Unbeknownst to them, the car would remain on the track until the finish of the race, allowing Verstappen to cruise to a victory that would have certainly occurred regardless.
AFP