Leclerc holds off two Mercedes for second consecutive win in front of delirious Ferrari fans at Monza; Bottas P2, Hamilton P3; Vettel spins out of the points early

Rising star Charles Leclerc earned his second consecutive win and a permanent place in the hearts of Ferrari fans with a hard fought victory at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy on Sunday. Coming off his first career win at historic Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium a week ago Leclerc arguably topped that personal first by fighting off both formidable Mercedes to take the win in front of the delirious tifosi at what Ferrari and Italians in general have always considered the most important race of the year. Using every defending skill and trick in his arsenal to hold off the Silver Arrows of first Lewis Hamilton and then Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc delivered the first Monza win for the famed Scuderia from just up the road in Maranello since 2010 when Fernando Alonso took the honors. The Ferrari SF90 now has reliably superior straight line speed to the Mercedes and the ultra-fast Monza circuit was the perfect proving ground for that, confirming the post-summer break trend that began at Spa. While it is too late for Leclerc to come anywhere close to challenging Hamilton for the title this season the talented Monegasque served notice that he could be the English 5-time champion’s biggest rival in the coming years.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Leclerc led from pole and he and Hamilton made their first stop for tires a lap apart, with Hamilton boxing on Lap 20 just one lap before Leclerc came in on Lap 21. But Ferrari opted to put Leclerc on the Hard Pirelli compound while Mercedes opted for Medium tires. It was an intriguing decision by Ferrari with potential pitfalls if Leclerc could not make the Hard tires work effectively for the remainder of the race. He was the only driver that opted for this strategy. The two contenders on their different tire compounds promptly began battling for the lead in spirited fashion and when Hamilton tried to make the pass on Lap 23 after closing the gap to within a whisker’s distance Leclerc essentially shoved Hamilton off track to maintain his lead. Leclerc was shown the black and white flag for that but that only serves as a caution against future behavior and is not a penalty. Similarly, when Hamilton had reloaded and made another go at Leclerc on Lap 36 after two brief Virtual Safety Car periods Leclerc locked up through the edge of the chicane and drove straight over the curbs. But the stewards ruled that he gained no real advantage over Hamilton even while rejoining in front of the Mercedes. By this time Hamilton’s tires were going off and his teammate Bottas, who had stayed out longer on his first stint than the two frontrunners and pitted on Lap 28 for his own set of Mediums, was closing down both of the leaders from his P3 position. When Hamilton had a lockup of his own on Lap 42 of the 53 lap contest and had to take the escape route into the chicane it was clear his tires were shot. Bottas easily inherited P2 without any internecine warfare and set about trying to catch Leclerc to try and take the victory for himself.

But Leclerc had other ideas on this day. Spurred on by the cheering sea of red from the Ferrari faithful in the stands, he soaked up the pressure from Bottas as the laps wound down. Even with his nominally fresher and better performing tires the second Mercedes could not quite overcome the pace of the Prancing Horse. When the Finn finally got within DRS range and appeared that he might be able to make a move for the lead Bottas promptly overcooked it into the first chicane on Lap 51, locking up just enough for Leclerc to pull out what would prove to be an insurmountable lead. After holding off the twin missiles of mighty Mercedes for almost the entirety of the Grand Prix Leclerc scored his second career win in front of the delirious Italian fans, as well as the happy top brass of the Ferrari ownership group watching from the garage, including Piero Lardi Ferrari himself. It was a star-making day for Leclerc at the race that all the Scuderia’s drivers dream of winning. And on this day, for the first time in 19 years, Italy’s expectations were met by their new favorite hero.

While Bottas and Hamilton had to settle for P2 and P3 respectively, with Hamilton earning an extra point for setting the fastest lap, the contrast between Leclerc and his teammate was stark.  Sebastian Vettel had an abysmal race a week after being relegated to playing tail gunner for his precocious stablemate. Vettel spun out seemingly on his own on Lap 6. To compound the error Vettel then rejoined in an unsafe manner, tangling with the Racing Point of Lance Stroll and earning a subsequent 10-second stop & hold penalty, essentially destroying his race and any chance of points on the day. A week after finishing P4 in Belgium his miserable P13 at Monza combined with Leclerc’s victory saw the veteran and 4-time champion slip down to fifth in the drivers’ standings as his teammate leapfrogged him for fourth. The trajectories of Leclerc and Vettel are clearly going in opposite directions and it’s possible the team no longer view the German as their number one. Could it be that the ascendent Leclerc has put Vettel into permanent eclipse? The next contest in Singapore could well provide that answer. It will certainly be critical for Vettel’s confidence, as well as his status within Ferrari, and he will be desperate for redemption and a strong result.

The reminder of the Top 10 was surprisingly led by the two Renaults, who showed their absolute best pace of the season. With their lack of downforce benefitting rather than hindering them at this ultra-fast circuit and the engines performing reliably at a high level for the race distance, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were able to come home a very strong P4 and P5 respectively. It was a massive points haul for the French factory team who sit fifth in the Constructors’ standings. On the other hand, Red Bull had a rather blah day after their ace Max Verstappen was forced to start from the back of the grid with engine penalties. While the Dutch wunderkind was able to work his way up to P8 his teammate Alexander Albon could not really challenge the Renaults and had to settle for P6. The tight confines of the Marina Bay circuit should suit Red Bull’s chassis better than the long straights of Monza. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez came home P7, while Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was a happy P9 at his home GP and McLaren’s Lando Norris took the last point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time, the always enthralling night race from Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit. Hope to see you then to find out if Ferrari can perform as well on a tight street circuit in Asia as they have done on the sweeping straights of the past two iconic European tracks!