Sunday was a day of surprises and records in Monza.
MONZA, Italy—September 6th—It seemed like it would be another Lewis Hamilton victory at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, but it didn’t turn out that way.
Following a fierce crash by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on lap 25 that brought out the second safety car period and a red flag, Pierre Gasly took advantage of an earlier pit stop to take the lead. Gasly then held off Carlos Sainz Jr. to win his first-ever Grand Prix. Lance Stroll took third for Racing Point.
For Alpha Tauri, it was its first win since 2008 when it was named Toro Rosso. In winning, Gasly became the first Frenchman to win a Formula 1 race in nearly a quarter-century when Olivier Panis triumphed at Monaco in 1996. And if that wasn’t enough for historic firsts, the youngest threesome in F1 history–Gasly, Sainz, Jr., and Stroll–took the podium in Monza.
The unexpected, if not flabbergasting win, had Gasly nearly speechless. “Honestly, it is unbelievable,” he said. “I cannot believe what is happening right now. It was such a crazy race. I have been through so much in the space of 18 months. I struggle to realize what has happened. I have got no words.”
Hamilton took the lead in the race and held the grid up to a nine seconds gap before Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen’s entry broke down just coming out of the Paribolica. Magnussen pulled the car too close to the pitlane entrance, and both Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi took advantage by pitting for new tires. The problem was that red lights outside the Parabolica were red, forbidding entry into the pits.
But the decision was slow and, on lap 25, Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari into the same final turn. That brought out another safety car, and a few minutes later, another red flag, which stopped the race for a half hour.
Just before that, Gasly had come in for his only tire stop, and that move proved to be beneficial.
The race had to be re-started from a standing position as Hamilton and Giovinazzi also had to serve their penalties. Now finding himself in first place, Gasly held off a determined Sainz to cop the first win of his career–finishing a mere four-tenths of a second ahead of the Spaniard.
Besides Leclerc and Magnussen, Sebastian Vettel lost his brakes early in the race and had to retire, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ended his day on lap 31.
Romain Grosjean fared much better in the American Haas second car with his best finish of the year, placing 12th. Lando Norris in the second McLaren just held off Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes for fourth, while both Renault’s took a double-points finish with Daniel Ricciardo in sixth and Esteban Ocon in eighth. Dani Kvyat and Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten.
Despite finishing seventh on Sunday, Hamilton holds a 47-point lead in the championship. He and others will head to the 1,000th Grand Prix race in history, which will be held next weekend at Mugello, Italy.
