In a race filled with wheel-to-wheel battles, controversy and heroic strategic calls, Ferrari emerged victorious on home turf in the 2024 Italian GP. Charles Leclerc stood atop the podium after pulling off a one-stop race around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, followed by the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in P2 and P3 respectively.
There was yet more controversy surrounding the two McLarens this weekend. Norris led from Pole at the first corner, but was soon overtaken by his teammate, ultimately taking points from Norris’ Championship campaign. Max Verstappen, who started in P7, made up one place to come home in P6. A race-long battle between the second Red Bull of Perez and the Mercedes of George Russell saw Perez demoted to P8, reducing the gap between Red Bull and McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship to eight points.
Franco Colapinto, in his first ever F1 race, classified in P12, while his new teammate Alex Albon secured some more points Williams in P9. The Haas of Kevin Magnussen, on the other hand, could find himself sitting out of a race later in the year after a collision with Tsunoda, which earned him a ten-second penalty and two penalty points. The Dane now sits on 12 penalty points – enough for a race ban.
At Lights Out
A good start from Norris at lights out saw the Brit take the lead into Turn 1. Russell, who was not expecting Piastri to round the corner so slowly, locked up and headed off the escape road. The Mercedes picked up some front wing damage in the process. Leclerc was up into P3, followed by the second Ferrari of Sainz and the future Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton.
A few moments later, the two McLarens were squabbling for the lead, leaving Norris vulnerable and demoted to P3, while his teammate took the lead and Leclerc close behind. Russell was down to five places to P8 with his damage, now battling Perez as opposed to the frontrunners. By Lap 2, drivers were racing around a dirt-ridden track, caused by an incident with the two Haas drivers who had tangled on Lap 1.
By Lap 5, Norris had dropped back from the two out-front, a second and a half down. Verstappen, who had started much lower down the pack than usual, was up a place to P6, while his teammate sat in P8 having overtaken Russell. Colapinto, in his debut, was holding his own in P16 ahead of both Saubers of Zhou and Bottas, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg. The latter two had collided when Hulkenberg locked up, careering into the side pod of Tsunoda, who consequently retired on Lap 7 with significant damage.
A Rough Start for Ricciardo
On Lap 9, Daniel Ricciardo was dealt a five-second penalty after squeezing Hulkenberg into the gravel earlier in the race. The Australian had a ropey start to the 2024 Italian GP, gathering the penalty and then locking up at Turn 1 on Lap 10 and flat-spotting his tyres early on. Meanwhile George Russell, struggling with damage to his front wing, was falling through the pack. The stricken Mercedes had fallen further by Lap 11, boxing for a front wing change and fresh set of Hard tyres. Out front, Piastri was 1.6s ahead of Leclerc in P2.
By Lap 13, it had become apparent that some of the grid were converting to a two-stop strategy, struggling with the tyres on the newly-resurfaced Monza track.
Leclerc, who had been told to drop back, was being crept up on by the second McLaren of Norris. Last week’s race winner was within DRS of Leclerc by Lap 14, but quickly pitted to attempt an undercut on the Ferrari – so quickly that the McLaren clipped a bollard as it careered into the pits. Following a speedy stop, Norris came out right behind Esteban Ocon, but quickly overtook the Frenchman and got on his way. A lap later, Leclerc emerged from the pits behind Norris. The McLaren team had successfully undercut the Ferrari.
Sainz Takes the Lead
Sainz had taken over the lead of the race by Lap 17 as race leader Piastri headed in for a stop. Piastri emerged in P4, ahead of his teammate. There was more misery for Ricciardo – the Aussie was dealt another penalty for failing to serve his first correctly. The mechanic had immediately touched the front wing of the car as it pulled in. The car cannot be touched during a stop-and-go penalty, meaning the RB team had breached the rules and consequently received a second penalty.
By Lap 19, Leclerc was back on the gearbox of Norris to claim back the net-race P2 position. Sainz was in for a pit stop to execute a one-stop strategy, strapping on a set of Hard tyres. Magnussen noted for causing a collision with Gasly, arriving at Turn 1 out of control and careering into the side of the Alpine. The Haas was dealt a ten-second penalty and two penalty points, taking the Dane to 12 penalty points.
Strategies Change
It appeared that the strategy of starting on the hard tyres was not working; the Red Bull of Verstappen was in the pits on Lap 22 to swap to a set of mediums. The stop was six seconds long, as the right rear tyre was stuck on. The Dutchman was visibly angry as he headed back down the pitman. Up ahead, the McLaren pitwall confirmed that Norris and Piastri would be allowed to race. The Brit was on the hunt for the young Australian – but Piastri was eeking out a two-second gap at the front of the grid.
By Lap 31, Norris was starting to struggle on the Hards, dropping back to five seconds behind his teammate. Norris was down the escape road down at Turn 4, leaving himself under immense pressure from Leclerc on worn tyres. The off-track stint lost the Brit 1.7s to Piastri. Norris was in that same lap with a three-and-a-half-second stop on another set of Hard tyres. Piastri was released up ahead, and Norris would be under pressure.
McLaren Resurgence?
On Lap 37 of the 2024 Italian GP, Norris was on the heels of Verstappen, who planned to race his Championship rival. A slow stop for Piastri was bringing Norris back into contention and Verstappen would have to stop again. Verstappen was back to his usual tricks, however, defending well against Norris who was stuck behind the Red Bull. By Lap 41, Norris was up and past Verstappen, who locked up into Turn 1. Meanwhile, further down the pack, Perez and Russell were embroiled in a scrap for P8. It was Russell who had emerged victorious at that point after some hairy moments, and was soon past Magnussen for P8.
Ferrari were in contention for the win out-front, having built a significant gap from the McLarens behind on a one-stop strategy. Norris was told to ‘just f****ing drive fast’ in a bid to get back on the podium. However, Leclerc’s tyres were looking grainy on Lap 44, and Sainz was reporting substantial graining on his front-left.
Piastri Takes P2
Piastri moved into second place on Lap 45, flying past the Spaniard who could not defend against the McLaren on much younger tyres. Norris was next to take the challenge to Sainz, but was struggling to pass. The Brit made it stick three laps later, taking him into P3. However, waiting to get past Sainz meant he now sat more than three seconds behind his teammate.
Five laps remained of the 2024 Italian GP, and Leclerc sat eight seconds ahead of Piastri in P2. Norris was building a gap to Sainz in P3, but was still three seconds behind his teammate.
Into the final lap, Leclerc was a comfortable four seconds ahead of his closest competitor. The Number 16 Ferrari would come home in P1 in front of a home crowd, followed by the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in P2 and P3 respectively. Birthday boy Sainz wouldn’t make it onto the podium, settling for a P4. Colapinto, in his maiden F1 race, came home just outside of the points in an impressive P12.
[adrotate banner=”3″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.