Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix Review

The Monza race has always been a memorable event. Many people consider Ferrari to be a religion in Italy, and when we race at Monza, it becomes clear why. 

A celebratory weekend in Monza remembering 50 years since Nikki Lauda won his first Formula 1 title. Both Ferrari drivers wore bright blue suits in memory of Lauda, a lovely tribute, and the Ferrari chastise had also been styled like the 312T, the same car that Lauda drove.

Now let’s begin with the practice sessions. Hamilton sparked hope throughout the tifosi as he held the top spot in the first practice, while several cars struggled to navigate the large gravel sections. 

In FP2, Antonelli beached his car in the gravel, bringing out a brief red flag for the session, and it was McLaren back on top, but with a few intriguing moments, such as Sainz in the top 3. 

The final practice session saw the Ferraris fighting hard; Leclerc looked strong, but so did Norris and Piastri. It was all to play for in the Italian Grand Prix. 

Tragedies Strike During Qualifying

An underwhelming performance from Alpine, who both went out in Q1 alongside Racing Bull’s Lawson in 20th position, was an awful start for him. Stroll slips into 17th place to finish the Q1 session. 

A shocking start for Hadjar as he’s out-qualified and ends his qualifying session in 16th place, a complete 180 spin from last week’s podium finish.

Norris is looking at risk, and with only 20 seconds to go, he does another quick lap, hoping to get through and make it to Q3, which he does, just.

Again, another double elimination for Williams, with both drivers in 13th and 14th. Haas also had both drivers eliminated, as Ocon fell to 15th place, and an unlucky rookie elimination for Bearman. Hulkenburg settled into 12th position. 

Moving onto Q3 now, and Verstappen is looking speedy, but so are Ferrari and, of course, McLaren. 

The crowd roared for Norris as he crossed the line in pole position, beating his teammate Piastri, but the cheering from the McLaren garage was outlived. As Max Verstappen wowed all by crossing the line first, he put both McLarens into running positions. 

No one can get past, and both Ferraris slot behind in 5th and 6th, followed by both Mercedes drivers—a strong qualifying for Bortoleto, who’s starting to show how he is consistently achieving Q3 appearances. 

Along with Alonso and Tsunoda snapping up the final two spots in the top 10. However, it’s Tsunoda’s teammate, Max Verstappen, who will start on pole for the Italian Grand Prix. 

Ready for Monza?

Gasly and Hadjar both start from the pit lane, having new power engines, and although Hamilton qualified 5th, he will start in 10th due to his 5-place grid penalty from last week’s race. 

34 points between Piastri and Norris after Norris’ DNF in the last race, it’s time to see if that gap will get any closer together. 

Will Ferrari make it onto the podium?

Before the race even begins, Hulkenberg is called in to retire the car due to a severe hydraulic issue, which means he is unable to start the race in Monza —a massive disappointment for Sauber.

A feisty start for Verstappen as he and Norris fight hard, Norris having a good launch, but he goes wide into the grass, and Verstappen has to swerve to avoid a collision. The stewards asked Verstappen to give the position back, so Norris led into the 1st lap of the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc overtook Piastri, but he swiftly regained his position, although by lap 3, Leclerc was fighting to reclaim his position again, a lock-up from Leclerc showing how hard they were pushing.

Norris leads the Italian Grand Prix, but Verstappen is hot on his heels, eager to take the position back, and he does so on the 4th lap. Norris locks up around the chicane, and Verstappen quickly takes advantage of this mistake, regaining his pole position. 

Piastri gains on Leclerc and soon squeezes past Leclerc, taking back his 3rd place position, much to the dismay of the fans around him. 

Hamilton with a brilliant start as he’s up four places into 6th place, the roaring sounds of the Tifosie spurring him on. Russel is sniffing out Leclerc as he’s in DRS range and is slowly gaining on him each lap, waiting to make the perfect move.

Ocon has been given a 5-second penalty for forcing Stroll off the track; this will be pretty damaging to his race. After 10 laps, Verstappen is 3 seconds ahead of Norris; the Dutchman’s strength seems to be unmatched. 

Antonelli lost a few positions at the beginning but is slowly gaining them back, as on lap 18, he manages to overtake Tsunoda and regain 9th place.

Norris dips his tyre into the gravel, bringing the pelting rocks back onto the track, which can be damaging, and Gasly does the same thing. 

Pit stops begin from lap 20, as several cars pit to try and undercut. Alonso managed to overtake Bortoleto in the pit lane, as Sauber had a slower pit stop, illustrating the importance of having fast pit stops.

Halfway through, Alonso retires the car, a suspension failure, a regrettable racing incident for him. Meaning we’ve lost two vehicles so far in the Italian Grand Prix. A tough decision from the Williams team as they tell Sainz not to fight with Albon and let him through, a decision Sainz is clearly unhappy with.

The McLaren team appears to be adopting a one-stop strategy, staying on these medium tyres and switching to soft tyres right at the end, which might end up being a good race tyre, but only time will tell.

Lawson and Tsunoda make contact, both unable to stay on track and ending up in the gravel. Antonelli decided to overcut and came out in front of Bortoleto; the Mercedes strategy paid off for now.

After 35 laps, Leclerc pits, but has a bit of a wobbly entrance as he locks up going in. However, the pit stop itself is quick, resulting in only a couple of places lost. Ferrari teammate Hamilton makes a few overtakes and goes up into 6th place.

Bearman and Sainz get into a tangle, bumping tyres and simultaneously spinning, but the cars manage to continue, with notable damage and lost positions evident. Bearman later receives a 5-second penalty for this incident, taking him out of the points. 

With 10 laps to go, both McLarens are in 1st and 2nd, but only because they have pitted, whereas Verstappen hasn’t. It looks like even if they pit under a safety car, Verstappen will still be ahead. Red Bull has definitely been on top this weekend, thanks to Verstappen and their effective strategy. 

Albon and Antonelli have some tricky moments, but Albon is successful in overtaking Antonelli, and in doing so, Antonelli receives a 5-second penalty for driving erratically.

Piastri comes in on lap 46 to pit onto soft tyres and a mighty quick pit stop of 1.6 seconds. Norris pitted on the next lap but had an awful stop as the left wheel gun got stuck, resulting in a 5.6-second stop.

Piastri has now come out ahead of Norris; it’s up to the team to decide whether to swap positions or leave it as is. Piastri lets Norris go by the team’s decision; they’re now free to race with only four laps to go.

Hadjar sneaks in 10th place onto the last lap, desperate to snatch the final free point after starting from the pit lane; it’s the best position he could’ve gotten. 

Verstappen is 19 seconds ahead of the McLaren duo and is the clear winner for this race. Norris is in 2nd place, and Piastri is in 3rd position. The Ferrari just missed out in 4th place. Hamilton achieved 6th place, and Russel stayed in 5th. 

Another Max masterclass in Monza!

The championship leaderboard is tight with only 31 points between Piastri and Norris; the fight is tough between them for McLaren.

But for today, Verstappen and Redbull were the outstanding winners. 

In 2 weeks, we’ll be in Baku, join us then!