Analysis of the Italian Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
The F1 circus arrived in Monza, ‘The Temple of Speed’ as it’s known in the sport, with the hopes of the loyal home fans resting on the shoulders of the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
The previous two races had seen both drivers finish fourth and fifth, a whisker away from the podium. Whilst the sea of red in the stands reflected that support, the home fans had one eye on the young local hero, Kimi Antonelli.
The hugely-talented 20-year-old was the championship leader, but had a mountain to climb, given that grid penalties would see him start from the back of the grid.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris had been making a comeback in the championship, winning the last two races, despite the ever-present threat of the Mercedes pair.
The characteristics of Monza could not be more different from the previous two races in Hungary and the Netherlands.
The low downforce and focus on straight-line speed is always the main consideration at the circuit, with qualifying also a crucial factor.
In fact, statistics show that the conversion of pole to victory at Monza is almost the same as Monaco. In the last 20 races, pole has won 14 times in Monaco versus 13 at Monza.
When it came to qualifying on Saturday, there would have been very few who would have predicted the pole sitter.
Pierre Gasly, in his 191st race, took his first-ever pole in F1. It wasn’t a fluke either. There were no incidents which impacted other drivers and he had shown that level of pace throughout all three practice sessions.
It was a remarkable drive in his Alpine at a circuit where he has a history of creating surprises, having won at Monza six years previously.
He would start the race alongside George Russell who was hoping to take advantage of the fact that his teammate would start at the back of the field, with his grid penalty a result of an engine change.
Whilst Piastri qualified third, he was later demoted to sixth for a qualifying infringement, leaving the Ferrari pair third and fourth on the grid.
The other McLaren of Norris was eighth just behind the Alpine of Franco Colapinto, who was not quite able to match his teammate’s remarkable performance.
At the start of the race, Gasly got off well, but by the start of the second lap, Russell had taken the lead. Behind the front two it was chaos.
Hamilton went onto the grass after coming close to Leclerc and lost places falling all the way back to eighth.
Just a few corners later, Leclerc was under pressure from Piastri and a very minor clip of the kerb left his Ferrari careering into the tyre barriers.
A red flag ensued whilst barrier repairs were made. As a result, all teams took the chance for a free tyre change, meaning cars could run to the end of the race without the need for a further stop.
On resumption, Norris lost places whilst struggling to warm his tyres up, whilst Hamilton gained places into fourth.
Antonelli, meanwhile, was storming through the field and by just lap 15 had reached third.
By this time, the top seven were less than seven seconds apart and there was overtaking galore.
Antonelli overtook Verstappen into second place on lap 17 and then just a lap later took the lead from Russell.
Over the following laps the lead changed hands between the two Mercedes countless times as overtake mode had a particularly strong effect going into the first corner.
On lap 29, Stroll’s car stopped on track due to a hydraulic failure, causing a virtual safety car.
Antonelli chose to pit, as did Verstappen, but Russell stayed out. Antonelli dropped to sixth and Verstappen seventh, but both had the advantage of brand new tyres.
By lap 40, Antonelli and Verstappen had gone through the field and were chasing down George Russell upfront on the older tyres. The gap for Antonelli was seven seconds and he had 13 laps to catch the British driver.
Antonelli caught up by lap 48 and attempted an overtake, but ended up driving through the gravel.
Two laps later, he tried again and put in a much cleaner move to take the lead.
From there, he never looked under pressure and cruised the last two laps for an historic win.
It was Antonelli’s most remarkable win in his career to date, not least because he started the race from 19th position.
Aged just 20, he became the first Italian winner on home soil since 1966.
The Italian fans swiftly forgot the race struggles of their beloved Ferrari and celebrated their home hero, with the dramatic setting of the Monza podium only adding to the occasion.
It was easy to forget amongst the celebrations that it also extended his championship lead. Based on the evidence of this latest performance, many will believe him to be a firm favourite for the championship.
Further back, Norris took Piastri on the last lap to claim fourth, whilst Verstappen took the last podium place for third.
Hamilton, who had been overtaken by both McLaren’s in the last quarter of the race, was sixth, with Gasly not able to repeat his qualifying form finishing seventh.
Lindblad, Colapinto and Tsunoda completed the top ten.
Overall, it was an incredible spectacle of racing at Monza, made even more exciting by the historic and memorable home win for Antonelli.
F1 now moves to Spain for the inaugural race in Madrid, which will provide a new and fascinating challenge for the teams.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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