An emotional Leclerc brings pride to Italy as Ferrari notches its first home victory in nine years.
MONZA, Italy—September 8th—There is a saying of Italian fans, the Tifosi as they are known. It goes like this: “If you drive for Ferrari, their fans will be expecting.”
That phrase came true Sunday afternoon at the classic circuit in Monza as Charles Leclerc led the Scuderia to their first win at the Italian Grand Prix since 2010. The 21 -year old from Monaco took his second win in a row, this time by the thinnest of margins–eight-tenths of a second–over Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes. Bottas’ teammate, Lewis Hamilton, took third.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdD266Ck5A
In this year’s championship standings, Hamilton leads Bottas by 63 points. Mercedes leads in the race for the constructor’s title by 145 points.
“I did a few mistakes but, in the end, I finished first,” Leclerc said. “Very happy with this. I need to be careful with the mistakes, but none of them made me lose position today.”
Leclerc took the lead right from the start, but Bottas took over on lap 19 when Leclerc made his only pit stop after his tires began to wear out. Leclerc regained the lead laps later and, then, started to testy battle with Hamilton. At one point, Leclerc received a warning for cutting off the Briton at the de la Roggia chicane.
But Leclerc caught a break when Hamilton made an error in the first chicane. That gave more time to Leclerc and put Bottas into second with fresh new tires. But Bottas couldn’t get speed on the straights as the Ferrari could. When Bottas made a mistake on the final lap, that finished the deal and gave Leclerc the chance to remain in the lead and win.
Sunday’s race might be known for its penalties, not just its winner. More penalties were served out than in recent memory.
Alex Albon was issued a penalty for cutting the track at one point and gaining an advantage. And Kimi Raikkonen, who began the race from the pit lane, was penalized for ten seconds for having the wrong set of tires at the start of the race.
Three cars retired from the race. Carlos Sainz Jr. pulled off the pit lane on lap 28 when a mechanic failed to secure one of his wheels. Dani Kvyat’s day ended with engine issues following one of his pit stops on lap 31. Both situations resulted in a virtual safety car. One of the American Haas F1 Team drivers, Kevin Magnussen, became the last retirement laps from the finish.
On the positive front, the two Renault drivers–Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg–had their best team finish ever with a fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Although an Italian car won the race, Antonio Giovinazzi, an Italian driver, finished in ninth. Lando Norris took the last point in tenth for McLaren. The other Haas F1 driver, Romain Grosjean, finished in 16th.
Leclerc has never been so passionate as he was Sunday. It was a win for the home team. Speaking in Italian, Leclerc told the crowd: “It was a very difficult race because I really wanted to do well here for the team and for the Tifosi. To win here is a dream, it was a dream, too, last week for the first win. But in terms of emotions, to win here is ten times stronger. Thanks to everybody. I have no words.”
The F1 grid now leaves Europe for the rest of 2019. The night skies in Singapore beckon in two weeks.
