Leclerc Wins Italian GP as Verstappen Falters Again
Charles Leclerc has taken a stunning victory at the Italian Grand Prix after utilising a bold one-stop strategy to hold onto the lead, the Monegasque thrilling the Tifosi as he clinched P1 ahead of the McLarens.
After making a decent start off the line from pole position, Lando Norris initially stayed in P1 before Oscar Piastri swept past into the second chicane later in the lap. From there, the Australian stayed out in front for much of the race.
However, with much of the field opting for a two-stop strategy, Ferrari made the risky decision to try a one-stop for Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, resulting in the pair running at the front of the field in the latter stages of the race.
Birthday boy Sainz was unable to hold on given his ageing tyres, with both Piastri and Norris overtaking him to move into second and third. But Leclerc held out to grab an emotional win on Ferrari’s home soil, crossing the line 2.6s ahead of Piastri.
Norris claimed an extra point for setting the fastest lap as he took third, adding somewhat to a day where the Briton may have hoped for more to aid his championship bid. Sainz had to settle for fourth, while Lewis Hamilton – driving his last Monza race before switching to Ferrari next year – was fifth for Mercedes.
Max Verstappen placed in sixth, the Dutchman gaining one position from his original grid slot. The Red Bull managed to stay ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh, while Sergio Perez added three points to Red Bull’s tally in eighth.
It was a positive day for Williams as Alex Albon clinched two valuable points in P9, and Kevin Magnussen was 10th in the Haas on what was an eventful day for the team, with both of their drivers having received time penalties for separate incidents.
Fernando Alonso just missed out on the top-10 in P11 for Aston Martin, and Franco Colapinto crossed the line on his F1 debut in P12 for Williams. It was P13 for Daniel Ricciardo, the RB driver having received two penalties in the early stages of the race.
Esteban Ocon was the lead Alpine in 14th, putting him ahead of team mate Pierre Gasly in 15th, and Valtteri Bottas followed for Kick Sauber in 16th place.
Nico Hulkenberg ended the day down in P17 for Haas, while Zhou Guanyu was 18th for Kick Sauber and Lance Stroll was the last classified runner for Aston Martin in P19.
Yuki Tsunoda was the sole retiree from the race, having retired his RB following a collision with Hulkenberg.
