MONZA (Italy), Sept 2 — Charles Leclerc was the hero yesterday as the Monegasque driver sparked a wave of joy among Ferrari fans at Monza with a brilliant win at the Italian Grand Prix, a race which left Max Verstappen convinced he is set to lose his Formula One title.
AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from yesterday’s thrilling race at the Autodromo Nazionale:
Verstappen in trouble
It was another dreadful weekend for Verstappen who was livid at the state of his Red Bull car after finishing nearly 38 seconds behind Leclerc and never looking like claiming his eighth GP win of the season.
The Dutchman struggled all weekend and cut a disconsolate figure after yesterday’s race, bemoaning his car’s performance and openly saying that he didn’t expect to retain his world crown.
“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever. And we basically turned it into a monster,” Verstappen told reporters.
Verstappen still leads the drivers’ standings by 62 points ahead of Lando Norris but is heading rapidly in the wrong direction.
His lead would probably have been even smaller had McLaren ordered Oscar Piastri to not battle with his teammate Norris, who finished third from pole position.
It is a huge turnaround not just from last year, when he romped to a third straight world crown in almost robotic fashion, but from earlier this season when he won seven of the first 10 GPs.
McLaren’s missed opportunity
McLaren have done great work in developing the best car on the paddock and should be considered favourites for the constructors’ championship as they only trail Red Bull by eight points.
But both of their drivers were on the front row of the starting grid yesterday and Piastri’s daring early overtake of Norris came as a huge surprise for a team which had a great chance to claim one-two finishes in both qualifying and the GP.
Norris said after the race that he’s not in F1 “just to beg for someone to let me pass”, but the Briton seemed extremely disappointed that McLaren didn’t order Piastri, who is 106 points behind Verstappen, to lay off.
“I would love it but it’s not up to me. It’s tough because obviously I think as any driver you don’t want things to just be played that way,” Norris told reporters.
“When you’re fighting for a championship you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can, the best way simply is just to win the race and I didn’t do that today.”
Leclerc urges Ferrari caution
Leclerc soaked up the adulation of thousands of delirous Ferrari fans, who spilled onto the track at Monza after watching the Monegasque put in a near-perfect performance.
The 26-year-old had every right to be on top of the world after winning Ferrari’s home GP for the second time in his career following triumph at Monte Carlo in May.
But he immediately tried to cool expectations of future similar bouts of derring-do after holding out on hard tyres he drove on from lap 16 to the chequered flag.
“We’ve got to be cautious because after Monaco I think we had the four worst races of the season,” said Leclerc.
“Monaco was so specific to our car at that time and Monza is also a very specific and particular track... It’s definitely brought us closer to McLaren but I don’t think it’s enough to be the car to beat for the rest of the season.”
Ferrari, who haven’t won a constructors’ title since 2008, are also closing in on Red Bull as they sit 39 points from the summit, while Leclerc trails Verstappen by 87. — AFP
