Monegasque Formula One driver Charles Leclerc of team Ferrari attends Drivers Parade ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit. Beata Zawrzel/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Charles Leclerc made the most of a dauting one-stop team strategy to give Ferrari an emotional home victory at the Italian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Scuderia surprised their rivals to get a first triumph in Monza since Leclerc's success five years ago in front of more than 100,000 delirious tifosi.
Leclerc won from the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and pole sitter Lando Norris while championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull came sixth and is now without victory in six races.
Norris misses closing gap considerably
Norris cast an unhappy figure because victory would have seen him reduce the gap to Verstappen considerably. But with no McLaren team order in place he was passed by Piastri in the opening lap, and two stops were too much to threaten Ferrari whose gamble paid off.
The fastest lap was no real consolation for Norris who made up eight points but still trails Verstappen by 62. But McLaren moved within eight points of Red Bull in the constructors' list.
"I am calm but nothing is the way it should be," Verstappen told Sky TV. "Everything was too slow today, nothing worked."
Leclerc and Ferrari delight
Instead, Leclerc added first place at Ferrari's home event three months after a maiden success at his personal Monaco home GP. He now has seven career victories.
"Mamma Mia," Leclerc screamed via team radio before later speaking of "an incredible feeling."
"I thought the second time, if there was a second time, would not feel as special as the first, but the emotions over the last few laps were the same as 2019.
"I want to win Monza and Monaco every year and I have managed to do so. It is so, so special."
Unhappiness at McLaren
Piastri admitted not winning "hurts a lot" and that in hindsight a one-stop strategy would have been the better option.
"We had everything to lose from being in the lead of the race. Charles could try something a bit different. He was going to finish third either way and picked the right gamble today," he said.
Norris said: "We considered a one-stop strategy the whole race but it was not possible with the amount of graining I had. We are disappointed but Ferrari drove a better race."
Looking at lap one, he said: "Oscar caught me by surprise as he got past. I don't know what I could have done differently. If I brake a metre later, I probably would have crashed.
"It's something we will look at but Ferrari drove a better race, particularly Charles."
Piastri ambushed Norris in first lap
Norris failed again to fully win a start as Piastri robustly sneaked ahead through the first chicane, and Leclerc also got the better of him for second place.
Mercedes' George Russell slipped from third on the grid to seventh after riding out into the first turn, and eventually also finished seventh.
Up front, Piastri started to pull away from Leclerc while Norris shot into the pits, slightly hitting a bollard.
It resulted in a chain reaction from the others, and the undercut worked for Norris as it lifted him ahead of Leclerc who pitted in the following lap.
Piastri remained ahead of the team-mate after his stop and was first again once all had pitted, with Verstappen having a bad stop and down to seventh.
Norris can't fight for top
Norris was given the go-ahead via team radio – under "papaya rules" meaning a clean fight – to attack Piastri.
But he never got close enough to make an attempt, appeared to have tyre problems and also made a mistake, and eventually pitted for the second and final time with 20 laps left.
Piastri followed six laps later and emerged ahead of Verstappen and Norris, with Verstappen told to put up a fight to keep the title rival at bay but it was a short fight as Norris soon moved back into second.
Ferrari strategy masterclass
The Ferraris were up front at the time as it became clear they were on a one-stop strategy, with Piastri more than 10 seconds off the lead at the time.
He and Norris got past Sainz in the other Ferrari, who finished fourth ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, but Leclerc survived his tyre wear to triumph by 2.6 seconds in the end.
Monegasque Formula One driver Charles Leclerc of team Ferrari drives on the track during the Formula One Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit. Stefano Guidi/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
