Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari after successfully executing a one-stop strategy to take his second victory of the season.
Leclerc managed his tyres expertly, making his hard tyres last 38 laps while his rivals pitted twice.Oscar Piastri finished second, with McLaren team mate Lando Norris in third.
At the start, Norris held the lead into the first chicane, while Piastri challenged his team mate for the lead. George Russell missed the chicane and ran through the escape road, damaging his front wing on one of the polystyrene boards and falling to seventh.
Piastri fought his team mate for the lead into the Roggia chicane and looked to pass around the outside. He muscled his way into the lead around the chicane, which compromised Norris enough to allow Leclerc to jump Norris into second place.
Piastri led the early phase of the race, pulling just over two seconds clear of Leclerc behind. Norris began to catch Leclerc and was called in to undercut the Ferrari at the end of lap 14. Despite Leclerc pitting the next lap, Norris jumped ahead of him after the Ferrari emerged from the pit lane.
Leader Piastri pitted at the end of lap 16 with Carlos Sainz Jnr becoming the last of the leading cars who started on mediums to pit. That moved the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who had started on hard tyres, to the front of the field.
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Verstappen pitted from the lead at the end of lap 22, but a slow stop cost him a handful of seconds. He fitted a second set of hard tyres and emerged in sixth, with Perez still behind him.
Piastri took back the lead of the race with his McLaren team mate just over two seconds behind him. Norris made a mistake at the Roggia chicane, putting him under pressure from Leclerc behind. McLaren responded by bringing him in for a second set of hard tyres, but Norris lost a couple of seconds with a slow stop.
Norris rejoined behind Verstappen in sixth but did not cruise up behind the Red Bull driver. Piastri pitted from the lead for his second set of hard tyres, rejoining behind the two Ferraris in third. Eventually, Norris managed to pass Verstappen into Rettifilo to move up back behind his team mate in fourth.
Leclerc now led the race ahead of Sainz, with it now clear the two Ferraris were committed to the one-stop strategy to the end of the race. Piastri cruised up to Sainz and easily slipped by to take second place on lap 45, leaving him nine laps to make up over 11 seconds to catch Leclerc.
However, as the lapped ticked down, it became clear that Leclerc would not be caught before the end of the race. Leclerc completed the 53 laps and brought the Tifosi to their feet as he won the Italian Grand Prix for the second time in his career.
Piastri was just 2.6 seconds behind the winner in seconds, while Norris took third with the fastest lap after passing Sainz after his team mate. Sainz held onto fourth with Hamilton finishing in fifth. Verstappen took sixth ahead of Russell with Perez eighth.
Kevin Magnussen finished ninth but was demoted to tenth after a ten second penalty for colliding with Pierre Gasly. Alexander Albon took two points for Williams in ninth, while debutant Franco Colapinto finished 12th on his grand prix debut.
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2024 Italian Grand Prix
- “Never had so much pain in a car”: How Colapinto impressed Williams on his debut
- F1’s most competitive season for 47 years? Four teams now have three wins each
- “Can I have my PU performance back?” – Verstappen’s “tough” Monza race on his radio
- FIA not changing front wing rules after Red Bull’s comments on rivals
- Norris “would love” number one status but won’t “beg someone to let me pass”
Jere (@jerejj)
1st September 2024, 15:34
I definitely didn’t see a Ferrari victory with a 1-stop strategy coming.
McLaren dropped the ball in the end.
Kribana (@krichelle)
1st September 2024, 15:36
Open goal missed by Mclaren here. Red Bull were nowhere here surprisingly. Now Ferrari is in the fight for the constructors championship. I was surprised Piastri overtaking Norris there at the start, very very surprised.
BasCB (@bascb)
1st September 2024, 15:56
Pretty much this yeah.
David BR (@david-br)
1st September 2024, 15:57
@krichelle Norris was probably just as surprised, his post-race interview made it clear he felt he’d had to brake hard to avoid a collision. Not what he was expecting. When Zak Brown said on the grid that they were free to race, it sounded ominous. The issue isn’t so much Piastri passing Norris but the potential for his aggressive move to push Norris further back – which is exactly what happened. Piastri was no doubt chuffed to be leading with Norris in third, eager for a win, but tactically it felt like it disfavoured McLaren who no longer had complete control of the race with a 1-2. Obviously they should have left Piastri out too for the win, but maybe they didn’t want to split strategies and be accused of disfavouring Norris.
It felt like a sucker punch to Norris after the McLaren BS about Piastri helping Norris for the WDC. Maybe Lando will learn now that Piastri is a fairly ruthless rival and won’t do a thing to help him if he can sniff a race win. And the team couldn’t care less. He’s not at Red Bull or even Mercedes where they value the drivers’ championship.
Mr B
1st September 2024, 18:19
It feels like Zac Brown is determined not to behave like Red Bull so he can feel like he has some kind of moral high ground about how he runs a team. The problem is they are messing up a great chance to win both championships. The WDC might seem a bit out of reach but given the performance difference between McLaren and Red Bull at the moment that lead of Max’s is not insurmountable for Lando.
I’m guessing that Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, is urging him to not end up like he did at Red Bull playing second fiddle to your team mate.
SteveR (@stever)
1st September 2024, 19:10
If you’re not a shark you shouldn’t be racing in F1.
Frank
1st September 2024, 22:54
I am curious to learn which philosophy, culture, institute or religion is preaching those values.
Let us please stop glorifying behaviour that one would typically not teach their kids.
SteveR (@stever)
2nd September 2024, 1:08
This isn’t club racing. If you’re not a shark you’re food.
Frank
2nd September 2024, 9:10
1. That quote was made as a justification for punting a rival of track – which admittedly he considered an act of retribution. In any case, quite a philosophy.
2. Iti s not about either competing or not cometing. It is the manner in which you compete.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 6:46
Exactly as I commented after Hungary; Norris should have never ever let Piastri pass him there. You never ever give away a win. There is no team. It is a temporary and opportunistic relationship. Go and be nice in the pub, not on track.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st September 2024, 16:19
Perhaps a bit of immaturity from Oscar too. He had a healthy gap. The car had underlying pace. And there were not many laps left to go. Sometimes, risk is needed for the reward.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
1st September 2024, 17:12
Question is, was he told that the Ferraris were expected to go for a 1-stopper.
Steve (@scbriml)
1st September 2024, 16:35
@krichelle Even more surprising was that McLaren didn’t revert the drivers during the last couple of laps once it became obvious they couldn’t catch Leclerc. That should have been an extra three points for Norris.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:28
Nah, makes no sense to do that for 3 points imo, that’s too little and won’t be impactful on the championship in the end; I could only understand such a team order if it had been first and second, 7 points.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 6:52
Depends how many points you are short at the end of the season. I think McLaren massively dropped the ball once again. Norris turns out to be fighting Oscar, not Max. Very disappointing.
Nick T.
1st September 2024, 17:41
Shows how much difference losing Newey has made and what a coup Aston Martin have pulled off in signing him. It’s basically just a matter of confirmation at this point. The irony of Alonso winning a WDC at the valley of his powers would somehow both ironic and fitting if Newey rapidly comes through again.
Schumi_alonso
2nd September 2024, 1:26
Well what if both McLarens followed suit and did a one stopper? Are we still talking open goal?
Applebook
2nd September 2024, 0:03
To be fair, it was a great move by Oscar, but try that against Charles, George, or Max, and it would have guaranteed ended in tears. There was no crash because Lando avoided a crash. Great for Oscar, but TERRIBLE for the team and the team’s chances of a WDC.
Nick T.
2nd September 2024, 13:54
I agree with Max and George, but Charles. Doubt it. He’s smart and less aggressive. They’d also have gotten a penalty because Piastri left room, which it what made it a sensational move. He was too far alongside to just punt him off. So, it’d have ended in tears for both drivers, which would be extremely silly for anyone in Lando’s position to do. Frankly, I don’t blame Lando much for getting passed with that move. I blame him for somehow not being able to block him off better.
OOliver
1st September 2024, 15:37
That is code Papaya for you.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st September 2024, 16:17
More like unripe Papaya!
someone or something
1st September 2024, 15:41
That guy is so easy to root for.
Edvaldo
1st September 2024, 15:45
Can Norris be a WDC? Only if Red Bull makes the number of mistakes they made this weekend on every round from now on and Mclaren work for him to win, not allowing Piastri to race him as he did today.
Red Bull was not great, Max was not great, and even their strategy was bad this time. And all Norris could do was to take 8 points off him.
And by Zak Brown’s face after the race, everything is fine. Even they can’t believe he can do it.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:31
Even though norris ended up losing the lead again on lap one, I think this is more on piastri: the move he did where he did it was unexpected and put norris on the back foot, causing him to lose the place to leclerc too, and norris was the only one who could’ve possibly won the driver’s championship at mclaren, and obviously this letting leclerc get second ended up increasing the chances to pull off such a move in the end and stealing the win from mclaren.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 6:54
My take out of this is that McLaren indeed does not believe Lando can win the championship. They massively let him down for the second time.
Nick T.
2nd September 2024, 13:56
He let himself down. In what possible way can you say the team let him down? He should have been able to catch and pressure Oscar and Leclerc earlier if he was so much faster.
Ben
1st September 2024, 15:46
Papaya must be code for Lando to bottle it.
I’d love to see a championship battle but honestly he doesn’t deserve it. Today was a golden opportunity to close the gap and he blew it.
Verstappen won’t give many more of those this season so the long shot just became impossible.
OOliver
1st September 2024, 15:52
I can’t exactly say not being too ruthless on your team mate is blowing it although it comes close.
David BR (@david-br)
1st September 2024, 16:03
If Norris hadn’t braked hard to let Piastri (and Leclerc) by, they’d have collided and it would have been 50-50, a racing incident. So I feel like Piastri was Verstappen-like in exploiting his rival’s reluctance to risk collision. If Piastri were a serious contended for the WDC, I’d say fine, brilliantly done. But after this, I expect Norris to be more aggressive (finally) realizing Piastri isn’t there to help him or optimize the team’s results.
Nick T.
1st September 2024, 17:43
Literally, all it meant was “don’t hit your teammate.” There’s utterly no way you can fault them for that. The only inexplicable move was not reversing the final order after already blowing the win. That, I don’t get.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:33
Why would they have reversed it? Leaving aside that 3 points is very little and won’t make a difference in the end, piastri overtook norris and was the better driver on balance across the race.
Applebook
2nd September 2024, 0:06
3 point could be huge. Red Bull has fallen off a cliff, and right now it looks like a podium will be stretch for Max. Lando needs to be ruthless with Oscar now. The gloves are off.
LosD (@losd)
2nd September 2024, 5:09
3 points here and there quickly becomes enough to win a championship.
… But if they did it, they’d have looked even more stupid by allowing the initial fight.
Nick T.
2nd September 2024, 13:57
Because it’s only 2nd and 3rd. I wouldn’t want them to reverse it if it Oscar 1 Lando 2. But what difference does podium order make? Virtually none, except for the points.
Illusive (@illusive)
1st September 2024, 15:59
Incredible victory by Charles, really poor performance from Lando and Russel.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:33
I wouldn’t blame russell: piastri left him no space at turn 1, forcing russell to take the long way and damage his front wing, his race was ruined after 200 meters or so.
Applebook
2nd September 2024, 0:07
Why would Oscar need to leave him space when Russell wasn’t even alongside him? He was clearly behind. It was a rookie mistake.
Patrick (@anunaki)
1st September 2024, 16:03
McLaren seem not really interested in the WDC. This is really good news for Max
Edvaldo
1st September 2024, 16:12
Zak Brown’s hugs and smiles with Vasseur after the race tell exactly that.
WCC is mostly in the bag, so he’s happy. They seem to have Norris as a stop-gap leading driver until Piastri is ready to takeover, so they’re trying hard not to upset him by making him work for Norris who also should be doing a better job and not leaving any gaps for other drivers to get in the way of his charge but is doing the exact opposite of that.
Nick T.
1st September 2024, 17:45
Piastri is not fast enough to be a great WDC and Lando is not consistent enough to be a great WDC. However, either one is capable of winning a WDC if they start next season with the type of advantage they began this season with. And, frankly, with 2026 right around the corner, it’s hard to see that not being the scenario next season.
Applebook
2nd September 2024, 0:09
“Stop gap” for when? 2030? This is nearing the end of Oscar’s second season, and overall, even excluding last year, Lando has thrashed him in pace. In Zandvort, the gap between Lando and Oscar was bigger than Max vs Perez. Think about that for a moment. Either Lando is much faster than he’s been given credit for, or Oscar is not that fast. I reckon that it’s a bit of both.
Nick T.
2nd September 2024, 14:23
I agree. People seem delusional about Oscar’s peak potential.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 6:57
I agree. Despite not even being close to the podium it feels like he won the most on Sunday.
AlexS
1st September 2024, 16:07
How? That is only valid if Piastri could get 1 pitstop.
Dane
2nd September 2024, 1:36
True. Lando said a one stop was never a consideration for them. The fact that Ferrari had great race pace and was kinder on the tires than McLaren should be worrying.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 7:00
Track temperature was pivotal for Ferrari. Different circumstances will see them less competitive.
atticus123
1st September 2024, 16:08
McLaren seems to be specializing in the fine art of self-sabotage “lately”. Picture this: two bright, shiny McLarens on the track, Piastri and Lando, ready to take on the world. But instead of working together to climb the ranks, they decide to indulge in a bit of friendly fire.
Piastri, with the enthusiasm of a rookie who’s just been handed the keys to a sports car. Lando, always one to back down. And what do you get? A scene straight out of a reality TV show—two teammates racing each other like there’s only one parking spot left at the MONZA mall.
But here’s the kicker: while they’re busy trying to outdo each other, their tires are turning into glorified erasers, leaving bits of rubber all over the track. By the time they realize they’ve turned their tires into a fine powder, it’s too late. They’re left with no grip, no glory, and a 2 pitstop strategy & wall that’s banging their heads against the nearest hard surface.
It’s like “Gods” handed them a perfectly good race strategy and they decided to improvise… poorly. Maybe they should add “Tire Management 101” to the team briefing next time, or at least invest in some boxing gloves to settle things before they hit the track.
One word for McLaren: shambolic /adjective, Chiefly British Informal. very disorganized; messy or confused
Seriously, Mr Brown, it might be time to stop improvising like you’re in a jazz band and start laying down the law. How about naming Lando the No. 1 driver before your drivers turn every race into a self-demolition derby? Or at least add “Follow the Plan” to the race briefings. Otherwise, you might as well hand out boxing gloves before the race and let them sort it out before they hit the track!
Meanwhile, standing at the Monza pit corner, looking at the Scuderia Ferrari Tifosi celebrating … leaning against the pitwall, Red Bull: “Thank you Zack, very much!” :):):)
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 7:04
I agree he needs to get serious about the sporting side of his business. I understand he is from the Liberty generation and loves to commercialise stuff and make money, but he needs to be reminded this is a sports competiton and this sport needs to be played with some dedication and discipline. They looked like a bunch of amateurs once again.
MichaelN
1st September 2024, 17:03
Shades of Monza 2008 there with one teammate having zero interest in the team game. Awkward, but, I suppose inevitable.
McLaren will be pouring over the data to see if they could have made that first Hard tyre last. As it is, it looks pretty silly but hey, smarter people than me will have made the call with the information they had at the time.
Very pleased for Ferrari and Leclerc, not too impressed by Sainz’ lack of delaying tactics, but I suppose it wasn’t necessary anyway.
MichaelN
1st September 2024, 17:03
Monza 2018, that is.
Edvaldo
1st September 2024, 17:19
I bet Piastri would not stop again had Norris stayed out. He urged the team to pit because he was aware Norris had already pitted first while running behind, just like in Hungary, and chose to cover him.
So, they lost this race because they were racing each other. Maybe they’re a bit too full of themselves at the moment.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st September 2024, 20:22
I think both Sainz and Verstappen did just fine with the delaying tactics. They knew they could delay the overtake by one lap and not much more (it would have required some pretty risky driving to keep the cars behind for longer).
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
2nd September 2024, 11:19
Imho that Monza 2018 thing was a bit blown out of proportion following Vettels comments in qualifying and the timing of the announcement of Raikkonen’s departure.. An still nobody really knows yet what Vettel was referring to exactly. In the race Raikkonen just did a normal start without any aggressive defense and than Vettel lost P2 to Hamilton in a very similar way Norris lost P1 yesterday.
knightameer (@knightameer)
1st September 2024, 17:05
Super super happy being a Ferrari fan. Leclerc winning in front of the Tifosi, gotta be the 2nd best moment of the season for him and Ferrari.
Verstappen is one lucky guy who has to defend his WDC lead from an inconsistent opponent in Norris. Lots of mistakes by sulky lando today. Bad first lap as usual for him, then hitting the bollard on his first pit stop, then a mistake at the chicane later in the race, and as usual Mclaren being high and mighty not issuing team orders even though the win was gone from their hands in the last lap.
Nick T.
1st September 2024, 17:47
To me, this win was a lot more special for them than Monaco, including Charles.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
1st September 2024, 18:21
What a day as a Tifosi. A victory in Monza in such great style. Easily the drive of the year for me!
David
1st September 2024, 18:39
Superb performance by Leclerc to stretch out those tyres and win in front of the home crowd.
Piastri making it clear he doesn’t want to be asked about whether he is going to be Lando’s #2 with a gutsy first lap move.
Red Bull’s pace absolutely nowhere.
What a great race.
McLaren still don’t have the strategic maturity. Their keenness to pit early, which then forced Oscar to cover Lando, cost them a shot at the win.
Red Bull are in serious trouble and with this form they are certain to lose the constructors and right now I can’t see Max retaining his drivers lead – astonishing when you consider his dominance in the first third of the season.
Going to be a classic end to the season.
Dane
1st September 2024, 18:52
I wonder if they were nervous after Leclerc undercut Oscar at Zandvoort and beat him there?
David
1st September 2024, 19:04
I think Oscar’s side of the garage are more worried about letting Lando take the lead in case he acts like a child again. Leclerc only stopped because Lando did. It’s a domino effect.
AlexS
1st September 2024, 19:42
And Leclerc even questioned why the hell they pitted him if he was undercut.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:38
You think norris is going to overtake verstappen? Seems very far and inconsistent to do that, and while a retirement could happen to verstappen, that could happen to norris too, and it would be more impactful in terms of points lost in the latter case, and apart from norris the others are too far.
Dand
1st September 2024, 18:49
For all the laughing at Ferrari strategy, sometimes they absolutely nail it and today was one of those days.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
1st September 2024, 19:42
I wonder if McLaren is worried that NOR can start a race which is why they are treating the drivers equally. They might not want to tell PIA every single race that he needs to let NOR pass at the end so NOR can “win”.
Bleu (@bleu)
1st September 2024, 22:10
Some people who miss the fuel stops argue that they offer more tactical options, but I disagree. This would not have been possible with fuel stops as no way Ferrari would have committed to end when they did that stop on Leclerc.
Just like Russell in Spa (although in that case the win was gone in the post-race inspection) the team seemingly changed the strategy as they saw others doing the second stop which helped them to lead the race. There was great excitement in both races about whether the leader could hold on.
José Lopes da Silva
1st September 2024, 23:19
I agree.
People that miss fuel stops do so out of nostalgic feelings. But one could also have nostalgic feelings of the pre-1994 era.
Tactical options is when teams have reasonable chances to fight and are not completely limited in their means due to graining. Let’s hope days like today keep happening.
Don’t forget that Antonelli’s crash was due to the fact that modern tyres do not allow the drivers to push them to the real limit. Of course it’s the Current Rules of the Game and that’s what drivers must deal it, but it’s not ideal – and fuel stops would not solve much about it.
Even if I rate Schumacher’s Hungary 1998 as one of his best performances, but let the Rules of the Game of that era stay there.
AlanD
2nd September 2024, 0:44
“Don’t forget that Antonelli’s crash was due to the fact that modern tyres do not allow the drivers to push them to the real limit.”
Jose, surely Antonelli’s crash was because he pushed beyond the limit. Whatever the tyres allowed, that was the real limit.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st September 2024, 23:42
Yes, this is a good point, both russell and this wouldn’t have been possible in the refuelling era, in fact leclerc complained about ferrari stopping him early on, despite having already been undercut by norris, so they could’ve let him continue for a few more laps, to make the last stint slightly shorter, but he still had plenty of margin, I could see it with a few laps to go that piastri would’ve had to gain 1,5 sec per lap + overtake, no way.
Dane
2nd September 2024, 1:32
McLaren feel like they are where Ferrari was in 2022. Great car, great drivers and a lot of missed opportunities to win. Ferrari meanwhile seem to have solved a lot of those old issues but no longer have the fastest car.
DaveW (@dmw)
2nd September 2024, 2:18
Norris earned some of his lashings today and he was really poor. But I think this WDC fight is still on. Mclaren and Ferrari absolutely left RBR for dead on a track that’s like an oval with an infield. Not one to really expose their balance issues. Verstappen and Perez now look to finish 7-8 if Mercedes are still going the right direction. Norris doesn’t need to win out just stay on the podium. Also starting p5-8 is going to get Verstappen a DNF or broken wing sooner or later.
Illusive (@illusive)
2nd September 2024, 6:03
Lando doesn’t deserve to win the drivers championship, I hope Mclaren isnt stupid enough to make Oscar their official number 2 driver when he has more balls than Norris to make one of the best moves of this season. The killer instinct that drivers like Max, Lewis, Micheal, Senna etc. posses cannot be taught, it just exists and Oscar is the one who has shown it time and time again.
Mayrton
2nd September 2024, 7:06
Super for Ferrari and Charles. How cool was this! McLaren shameful performance to throw away a 1-2. They need to make changes in their team as this just looks silly. Max got a present from them once again.