Leclerc thrills the Tifosi as he triumphs at Monza ahead of Piastri and Norris with bold Ferrari strategy paying off

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.

AS IT HAPPENED

After three varied practice sessions followed by a super-close qualifying hour – which saw Norris and McLaren team mate Piastri lock out the front row, with the leading six cars all covered by less than two tenths – the attentions of the paddock turned to Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

In a continuation of the conditions seen throughout the weekend, the drivers were greeted by hot and sunny weather for race day at Monza, with temperatures reaching more than 30 degrees Celsius. Intriguingly, though, the risk of rain for the event was predicted at 40%.

The possibility of thunderstorms was not the only factor sparking question marks ahead of the 53-lap encounter. There was also uncertainty in terms of strategy, with Pirelli suggesting that a one-stop would be quickest. However, the high levels of tyre degradation seen so far could result in a two-stop for some.

When the tyre blankets came off as the cars assembled on the grid, it was confirmed that the majority of the field would start on the medium compound, while Verstappen, Perez, Ocon, Tsunoda, Stroll and Bottas had opted for the hard.

Having made a slow start last time out at Zandvoort, Norris ensured this would not be the case at Monza as the Briton moved across to cover Piastri off the line, allowing him to keep the lead into Turn 1. Russell, meanwhile, locked up from third place after trying to avoid the back of Piastri’s car, forcing him to take to the escape road and drop down the order.

Just a few moments later, Piastri was looking racy into the second chicane and swept into the lead ahead of Norris. Leclerc then took advantage to also snatch a position from the latter McLaren, dropping Norris down into P3. Further back, Russell – now in P7 – looked to have picked up damage to his front wing endplate.

Elsewhere, the stewards had noted Ricciardo and Hulkenberg for an incident at the start, with replays showing that the two had made contact after Hulkenberg was squeezed by the Australian.

“Ricciardo pushed me into the gravel,” the Haas driver reported, before then being noted for a second incident involving the other RB of Tsunoda after the pair touched into Turn 1. Amidst all of this, Hulkenberg was the first to visit the pits on Lap 6, leaving with a new front wing and some hard tyres.

Up ahead, Piastri was leading from Leclerc by just under one second as Lap 8 ticked down, with Norris still running in third around two seconds back from his team mate. The RBs, meanwhile, were not having an ideal afternoon, with Tsunoda retiring following his contact with Hulkenberg while Ricciardo had been given a five-second penalty for his collision with the German.

The stewards were being kept occupied, as Hulkenberg himself was hit with a 10-second penalty for causing the Tsunoda incident. It was also getting busy on the track, with Perez overtaking Russell for seventh place. As such, the Mercedes dived into the pits on Lap 12 to bolt on a new front wing along with a set of hard tyres, dropping him down to P16.

By Lap 14, Piastri had stretched out his lead to more than three seconds from Leclerc. Norris, meanwhile, was trying to chase the Monegasque and opted to pit as an undercut attempt, the Briton locking up heavily as he entered the pit lane. After taking on some hard tyres, he emerged back on track in eighth place.

Soon afterwards, Leclerc responded by making his own stop and found himself behind Norris in P7. It was then Piastri’s turn to pit on Lap 17 – and, despite being ahead of his team mate when he returned to the track, the gap had definitely closed.

Leclerc voiced his annoyance at the timing of his pit stop over the radio, having lost out in that undercut to Norris. Another driver likely feeling irked was Ricciardo, who had been handed a 10-second penalty for failing to serve his original time penalty correctly.

At the front, Sainz pitted from the lead on Lap 20 – putting him in P6 – which handed P1 and P2 to Verstappen and Perez, with both Red Bull cars yet to make a stop. Norris, meanwhile, had received a radio message referring to “papaya rules” – could this be a form of team order, with Piastri ahead by one and a half seconds?

The work was continuing for the stewards, with an incident between Magnussen and Gasly noted. Magnussen had tried to make a move down the inside of the Alpine before locking up, resulting in contact between the two.

Anyone wondering about the meaning of that earlier radio message to Norris soon received some clarity, with the 24-year-old being told: “You are allowed to race Oscar. Papaya rules.” Piastri had resumed the lead after the Red Bull duo had made their stops for the hard compound, with Verstappen now in P6 and Perez in P8.

Perez subsequently picked off Ocon on Lap 25, the Alpine one of the few to seemingly be committed to a one-stop strategy. Over at Haas, Magnussen had joined his team mate in being hit with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. This didn’t seem to deter the Dane, though, who moved ahead of Bottas to take P12.

Another driver getting their elbows out was Ricciardo, who was busy scrapping with Gasly for P14. However, a lock-up from Gasly forced the Frenchman to go straight on at the chicane, resulting in him handing the position to Ricciardo.

As the race reached Lap 29, Piastri remained in the lead with a 2.5s advantage over Norris, while Leclerc and Sainz followed in third and fourth for Ferrari and Hamilton – on a day where Mercedes appeared to be struggling for pace – in fifth.

Further back, Colapinto had made his way past Gasly for 15th place on his F1 debut for Williams. But there was plenty of action still going on up ahead, with Russell pressuring Perez in a fight for P7, while Norris locked up and lost time to Leclerc, allowing the Ferrari to get tantalisingly close.

As such, Norris chose to make a second pit stop on Lap 33, bringing him out in sixth place with a fresh set of hard tyres on. It was a slow stop for the Briton – and this also proved to be the case for Russell, who soon visited the pits himself and emerged back on track in P12.

Norris soon found himself closing the gap to Verstappen in a battle for P5, prompting the Dutchman to ask if he should fight with the McLaren or defend. “Race him,” was the response. Piastri, meanwhile was quizzed on the possibility of a one-stop, with the Australian answering, “I don't think so, the front left is pretty dead.”

And with that, Piastri pitted from the lead on Lap 39. Despite a slightly slow stop, the 23-year-old had emerged ahead of the Verstappen and Norris scrap. Russell, meanwhile, had taken P8 from Perez into Turn 1, despite getting squeezed by the Mexican.

It was game on for Norris as he looked to find a way past Verstappen for P4, with the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Sainz in P1 and P2 having not yet made a second stop. After utilising the DRS on the main straight, Norris was able to sweep past Verstappen into the first corner on Lap 41.

Verstappen soon made another visit to the pits, bringing him back out in P6 on the medium rubber. Amidst all of this, a fascinating situation was playing out in front, with Ferrari seemingly trying to make a one-stop work as their cars held a one-two formation.

With 10 laps remaining, Leclerc was the race leader with a 11s advantage over Sainz. The Spaniard, however, had Piastri hot on his tail, while Norris was a few seconds behind his team mate in P4. And behind them, Verstappen was flying on his fresh rubber and cutting into the gap to Hamilton in fifth.

Despite trying hard to defend on his ageing tyres, Sainz could do nothing to stop Piastri overtaking him for P2 on Lap 45 of 53. The Ferrari man – celebrating his 30th birthday today – saw his pace drop off as Norris closed right in to attempt to take third place.

It did not take long for Norris to make the move, with the Briton then three seconds down the road from Piastri. The Australian, meanwhile, was now seven seconds away from Leclerc in the lead, the Tifosi audibly cheering every time the Monegasque passed them.

Elsewhere, Verstappen was concerned about the risk posed by Russell behind as the reigning world champion remained in P6. “Even though it's a **** position, it's important," said Verstappen.

As the laps ticked down, the tension rose for the Ferrari team as Piastri cut into Leclerc’s lead. But ultimately the gap was not coming down quickly enough for the McLaren man to close in, meaning that Leclerc managed to hold on to take an incredible win in front of the Scuderia’s adoring fans.

Piastri ultimately crossed the line 2.6s behind Leclerc, while Norris was three and a half seconds back from his team mate, though a small consolation for the Briton was that he claimed an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

Sainz was fourth on his 30th birthday, ahead of Hamilton in fifth and Verstappen in sixth on what looked to be a tough day for Red Bull. Russell followed in seventh, while Perez, Albon and Magnussen rounded out the top-10.

Alonso missed out on points in P11 for Aston Martin, while Colapinto ended his F1 debut with P12 for Williams. Ricciardo took P13 following his two earlier penalties, ahead of the Alpine duo of Ocon and Gasly in P14 and P15 respectively.

Bottas – who looks to be one of the frontrunners for the yet-to-be-confirmed seat at Sauber next season – sealed 16th, from Hulkenberg in 17th, Zhou in 18th and Stroll down in 19th.

Tsunoda remained the only driver to record a DNF at the event, having retired the RB following his collision with Hulkenberg.

Key quote

"It’s an incredible feeling," said Leclerc after jumping out of the car. "Actually I thought that the first time would just feel like this, and then the second time (if there was a second time) wouldn’t feel as special, but my god the emotions in the last few laps, exactly the same like in 2019.

"Just watching the grandstands inside of the track which is tricky but incredible. I mean Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year. Obviously I want to win as many races as possible, and the world championship as soon as possible, but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. It’s so, so special."

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