Monza, 2023

Rate the race: 2023 Italian Grand Prix

2023 Italian Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Italian Grand Prix.

RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2023 Italian Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 (4%)
  • 9 (15%)
  • 8 (34%)
  • 7 (24%)
  • 6 (12%)
  • 5 (4%)
  • 4 (0%)
  • 3 (3%)
  • 2 (1%)
  • 1 (3%)

Total Voters: 157

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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60 comments on “Rate the race: 2023 Italian Grand Prix”

  1. The best 2023 race so far.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd September 2023, 16:37

      Agreed.

    2. Exactly. Everybody had to fight for it for the whole race. And we got great fights, very good defensive driving.

    3. Agreed. Such a great track and a pretty close field.

    4. It felt like a proper race for F1 fans.

  2. Lots of good quality racing to enjoy. Ferraris made that race far more enjoyable than it should have been!

  3. The 5 second penalty that Lewis got is a joke, crash someone out to get by them fast and then by running in free air you earn 5 seconds. Lewis really needs to learn to pass people cleanly and not crashing into them all the time.

    1. This is LH way … All his supports always ignores this side of his racing. He almost killed Max at silverstone and this race his cost piastry a good result…

      1. Max cut too far on the inside line in silverstone. What he did in Monza, Jeddah and Brazil – thats what you meant…

        1. As I said, LH supporters will never accept that. what he did today was nasty and you did said nothing …

          1. You brought up silverstone, were Max was partly to blame…

      2. He almost killed Max at silverstone and this race his cost piastry a good result…

        Max did it to himself at Silverstone. A slightly wider line would have seen him up the road without incident, but running in to a section of track where he was slower and would lose position again. What he tried to do was cut across tight and cause LH to brake and lose momentum, he failed spectacularly.

        What Lewis did today was dodgy.

    2. More to the point, I don’t understand why stewards rarely issue drive-throughs anymore. It ruined Piastri’s race, it makes sense to issue a drive through penalty. Instead it’s just another 5-seconds which did nothing

      1. I could not agree more. LH did same to Albon multiple times and cost him podiums and his seat …

        1. Multiple times sure does sound better than twice, doesnt it? And if you really think that Albon not lucking into a good result was a reason to get rid of him then you are beyond delusional.

          1. So it is only twice, and not more we should not count it ? Yes i still believe if albon could make it to podium on those races, he could have got another term ….

          2. I AM literally the one who counted it. You did not even bother to do that, because, again, you just dislike Hamilton so multiple times will sound better. Again, do you think Red Bull leadership is not capable of seeing it was not his fault and decide appropriately? Is the team with the best driver, the best car, the best strategists and the best pit crew run by idiots after all?

      2. That’s because the teams want their drivers to not get penalized in similar situations, so they moaned for years to ‘let them race’ and the FIA bowed to their pressure and only appoints stewards who ignore all the other penalties in their regulatory toolbox.

        The FIA should explain what incidents between drivers warrant, in their view, a stop & go penalty, or even a DSQ (because apparently even deliberately crashing into someone doesn’t; see Azerbaijan 2017).

        1. I think that they should either take the consequences of the offence into consideration when they apply a penalty or drop all of these rules completely.

          I would prefer the latter.

      3. Maybe because of context?

        Piastri shoved Hamilton off the track at the same turn the previous lap.

        The contact itself was Hamilton fault, he should have rather give Piastri tad more room and push him of the track on the apex, just what everyone was doing in Turn 1 the whole race.

        1. “The contact itself was Hamilton’s fault”

          …..

          Right and that ruined Piastri’s race, so 5 second time penalty is not sufficient, drive through instead

          1. Get (more) used to it. Many more to come …

          2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            3rd September 2023, 16:50

            @smartez that part of the track has its own racing rules (I’ve concluded that over the years) but the 5 seconds were not easy to overcome. It could have ruined Lewis’s race who took a lot of risk to overtake Norris and Albon in order to build a 5 second gap. Shouldn’t he be rewarded for that risk regardless of the contact with Piastri? He could have risked his points for nothing if he had not cleared them by 5 seconds.

      4. Yes. If felt like a 5s time penalty was irrevant. The crash ruined the race of Piastri. With medium tyre the inevitable overtake could have been made cleaner by Hamilton.

    3. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd September 2023, 16:42

      @fildge90 This was Lewis’ mistake but he had to go for it. Actually, that was a much better collision than the one they were guaranteed to have on the corner and that would have ended Lewis’ race because of being on the outside and receiving the brunt of the g-force. I think contact with Piastri was inevitable to make the move regardless of lap or corner.

  4. Gave an 8 for Ferrari being allowed to actually fight.

  5. 8/10 for the second week in a row. Feel like my standards have been lowered but I’ve really enjoyed the last two races. Best since Brazil last year

    1. Your standards haven’t lowered, the races have just been great!

  6. While he was off-screen and we could forget about him it was a really enjoyble race, and then the chequered flag came out and it was like “Oh, yeah. Another non-contest. Maybe one day.”.

  7. 8/10 Really enjoyed that.

    DRS not been that effective resulted in some nice long battles for position, Some good defensive driving & some good overtaking/overtaking attempts from start to finish.

    1. Exactly, this was about where DRS was supposed to be – enable cars to keep in touch and get a chance at a pass when they are faster, but not making it a slam dunk to drive past.

  8. I’m not sure i’ve enjoyed a fully dry race that much in ages.

    Just shows how great the racing can be when DRS isn’t too powerful. Allows for some proper racing drawn out over dozens of laps with drivers having to try different lines to attack and defend with overtaking having to be down to the skill of drivers on the brakes rather than just pushing buttons to get artificial mario kart speeds boots.

    And best of all the racing is drawn out over the entirety of the race rather than all been front loaded with drivers more easily getting into car pace order earlier on as can be the case when DRS is more powerful.

    A win for quality over quantity!

  9. Sainz was a beast in this race. Feel like I’ve never seen this driver before. Fast and ruthless even with his teammate.

    1. Agree, we need to see more of this one.

  10. While the outcome was sadly predictable, hearing much of the race on on the radio suggested that Sainz in particular made quite a race out of it. Good for him!

    Hopefully he can do this more often, because he’s already quietly having quite a solid season. I had expected last year to be the real breakaway for Leclerc, but Sainz is more than keeping him honest again. Not through outright pace, but by just scoring consistently. I suppose it depends on who you ask what the main cause of that back and forth is, but whatever the case: it’s not a great look for Leclerc.

    It’s becoming ever more obvious that they should just run a mini-race or two without DRS.

  11. Absolutely a superb race with brilliant racing action.

    10 Wins for Max
    15 Consecutive wins for Red Bull.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd September 2023, 16:52

      @maddsusie

      Wow 15 consecutive wins for Red Bull? What’s the next highest number? That’s just bonkers.

  12. 1

    Ten races in a row tells you all about the state F1 is in right now.

    It makes no sense that all these restrictions are still in place since the budget cap exists. Bring back unlimited testing and as many components as a team can afford. As long as it’s within the cap, there is no need for these artificial restrictions that kill innovation and make it impossible for anyone to catch up during a season.

    Absolute joke of a sport right now.

    1. If you genuinely consider that a 1 then stop following F1.

    2. Unfortunately, the teams that could stand to benefit from that are led by the same genius leaders who agreed to an engine freeze at the very moment their primary opponent had just been dumped by their engine partner.

    3. This is called “Rate the Race”, not “Rate the state of the sport”

    4. 100%

      All those limitations were introduced to limit costs which are irrelevant now post-budget cap.

    5. since the budget cap exists

      What budget cap? There’s no such thing. 14 wins in a row is a solid proof of that. The top teams, if they’re smart, must already be pouring as much money as they can into the 2024 cars.

      There are no consequences for breaching the so-called rules. Just include 5-7-10 mln of pounds or dollars or euros in the total spendings on car development. Marketing consequences? Who cares how you win as long as you win?

      Mercedes and Ferrari can – and must – do that.

    6. 1 ???

      Of course you are free to vote how you want, and I guess there is nothing to stop you applying whatever reasoning you choose. I could, for example, choose to rate it a “1” because I am fed up with the lack of cute puppy pictures on the liveries……. but really, if you are not voting in the spirit of the poll then it’s rather taking the mickey and undermining those that vote accordingly.. isn’t it?

      As an aside, I am equally unsure how it could be a “10” either. As good as it was, surely there can be – and have been – better races.

  13. I’ve gone 8 despite the fact we all knew what was going to happen even before it started.
    I’m not going to name them all but for me most of the drivers today worked hard and the end fight from Ferrari was sublime.
    Lawson has to be on most teams list for future drivers doesn’t he?

    1. Lawson has to be on most teams list for future drivers doesn’t he?

      You’d hope so. There’s far too much stock put in experience by F1 teams’ leadership.

  14. The ineffectual penalty for the one who mistook F1 for a Demolition Derby (business as usual) seriously ruined the race for me. Would have given it a 8, will be a 3.

  15. 6/10
    The result was predictable. But it was encouraging to see some wheel to wheel racing. Congratulations to Max for setting a record, which could even be extended given the machine Red Bull has built and the form Max is in. Solid drives by Perez, both Ferraris and Albon and Lawson.

    1. The only correct rating I’ve seen here. It’s really laughable how low the standard has become for f1 fans. I don’t know how anyone could give this race a rating higher than 7. Everyone knew Verstappen is gonna win after 5 laps, only one different driver came into the top 10 (and that’s because Piastri suffered damage late in the race), no SC, top 6 finished in order of car performance and the battles were above average, I wouldn’t call them spectacular. Aside from the battle in the final stages between the Ferraris, which was pretty exciting, I don’t know what else stands out that much as people here make it seems so. I think it just proves my point on how the RaceFans’ Top 100 Races isn’t really that relevant since people rate the races based mostly on how boring the previous were or the general state of the season.

      1. Why would a SC or different drivers in the top 10 mean that the race was good?
        The race had very good overtakes and action from lap 1 till the end.
        The reduced DRS effect meant that for once the drivers did not just have to push a button to pass. They rather had to work hard to get through.
        It was one of the best races I’ve seen since DRS was introduced.

      2. @apophisjj

        The only correct rating I’ve seen here.

        Apophis. If you got here earlier and told us what the “correct” rating was you could have saved us all some time.

        Or, for even greater efficiency, perhaps ask Keith if he can change this regular article to “Apophis Race Rating”.

  16. Bloody good that,(fortunate to have an F1 pub and F1 friends, so ale nay well have been taken).

    1. May well even, probably proves my point!!!!!

  17. Tried to watch it because Monza is a so-called classic – but that stupid first chicane had me shouting at the telly. Just blow it up, or at least use that middle chicane for bikes they were all using as an escape road.

    1. The first chicane is perfect, probably one of the best chicanes on the calendar

  18. Good race. Monza with the old formula could be a bit of a snore-fest, which this was certainly not. Was nice to see the step up that Ferrari made to be in the race today, and was choking on my Primitivo, watching LeClerc trying to get by Sainz in the last 3 laps. Excellent stuff. Glad they let them push, but pleased to see Carlos get the laurels in front of the Tifosi.

    The Merc boys both got away with one. Russell was a donut not to immediately give the place back to Gasly. Otherwise he had a good race, with an honourable mention for his early battle with Perez. But Hamilton? Well, you can argue it was unintended, but clumsy it certainly was. I suspect Piastri will be viewing Hamilton’s spacial awareness with a similar degree of wariness that Norris and Albon have been learning about of late.

    Albon shone, again, all weekend. Williams seem to have given him a good car, but until we see a decent/established teamy alongside him, it remains a mystery as to whether RB let a genius slip through their fingers, or the Grove team have turned around their chariot in two years.

    Another pure gold showing from Max. No superlative can overstate his ability at this point. Great for the record books. Dreadful for Liberty media. I think that Perez is in a world of trouble regards his position. He did make it a 1-2 for RB, but only just. And again we saw crashes and a sub-par performance against his team mate and heard much whining during the race about the excellent driving of George, Charles and Carlos. They will expect more from a man they are paying $10 million a year for.

    Looking forward to silly season.

  19. 5 points along for Fred Vasseur allowing the Ferrari fight! Exactly what you need when you are trying to get a team back on top!

  20. On paper a record braking 1 – 2 RBR win, might sound boring but it wasn’t at all.
    Really entertaining. Extra credits for the lack of DRS highway passes, (extended) battle for the lead, (extended) battles on most places actually

  21. 7/10 for me. More like an F1 race of times past. There were some real battles through the field and some good aggressive and defensive driving. But passes didn’t seem like a foregone conclusion.

    I think most were surprised it took Max 15 laps to get past Sainz. I think it was one of Carlos’ best drives ever. A good drive by Albon as well. Well done to Ferrari for letting their drivers race.

  22. Are we going to discuss the start of this race? Fortunately, the confusion at the start did not adversely affect any of the teams’ start but it could have. TSU car is on the side of the track. No one believed that the track crew at Monza was going to clear the car with one more formation lap. So why weren’t the teams allowed to go to the cars once the last car stopped on the grid after the 2nd formation lap??? I was shocked that none of the cars were affected.

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