Charles Leclerc delivered a thrilling victory for Ferrari at the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, delighting the home fans with a stunning win on Sunday.
The team’s daring one-stop strategy, coupled with nine upgrades brought for their home race, proved to be a masterstroke.
Despite significant tire wear, Leclerc expertly defended his position, fending off challenges from Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammates Lando Norris. Ferrari’s bold call to pit just once paid off spectacularly.
As it became clear what was on the cards, the passionate, red-clad tifosi rose to their feet, stamping and roaring with every lap Leclerc completed. They erupted when he crossed the line 2.664 seconds ahead of Piastri.
Polesitter Norris finished 6.153 seconds behind Leclerc, trimming the gap to 62 points from championship leader Max Verstappen, who finished sixth in his Red Bull.
Leclerc’s win marked Ferrari’s second victory at its home track in the past 14 races, the first being in 2019.
"It’s an incredible feeling. I actually thought the first win would feel like this and the second wouldn’t be as special. But, my God, the emotions in the last few laps," Leclerc said afterward. "The tifosi were incredible, mamma mia!"
Before Sunday’s triumph, Ferrari had only managed a second place for Leclerc in 2022 and a third for Carlos Sainz last year since their 2019 victory.
This win was Leclerc’s second of the season. His first came at his home track in Monaco.
"Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year, and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special," he said.
Leclerc started fourth at Monza, with the McLaren duo locking out the front of the grid. With Norris chasing the title, there were questions about whether team orders would come into play.
Those questions were quickly answered. Both McLarens got a good start – unusually for them – but Piastri managed to slipstream and overtake Norris into the second chicane, with Norris slipping into third as Leclerc also moved ahead.
Norris managed to undercut Leclerc, and with him sitting just behind Piastri after the first set of pit stops, the duo were told on team radio that they were free to race.
However, the anticipated battle for the victory never emerged due to Ferrari’s audacious strategy.
As more drivers came in for their second pit stops, and the laps continued to tick down, it became clear that Ferrari’s pair were attempting to nurse their hard tires to the end. Leclerc succeeded in holding off Piastri despite running on tires that were nearly 40 laps old.
"I wasn’t surprised you stayed out; I was surprised you survived," Piastri told Leclerc in the cooldown room.
"It hurts. It hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today," Piastri said. "There were a lot of question marks about the strategy going into the race. Doing a one-stop looked like a very risky call – and in the end, it was right. Today we unfortunately got it a bit wrong. We had everything to lose from being in the lead. Charles could try something different as he’d finish third either way. Painful."
McLaren found some consolation as it closed the gap to just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
"At the moment, both championships are not realistic," Verstappen said. "Last year we had a great car, the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster. So we have to turn it around."
With just eight races remaining, Norris was asked whether he felt team orders should come into play.
"I’m not here just to beg for someone to let me pass; that’s not what I’m here for," Norris said. "I’m here to race. He (Piastri) drove a better race than me, so I finished third, and that’s where I deserved to finish."
Pressed further, Norris admitted he would prefer the team to prioritize his title push.
"I mean, I would love it, but it’s not up to me," he said. "It’s a tough one. Obviously, I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time, but time is going away slowly. I still believe we can do it. The pace is obviously great. I still believe we probably have close to, if not, the best car again today.
"I don’t know; it’s not for me to decide, it’s for the team... When you’re fighting for a championship, you want every little thing, and I’m doing everything I can. The best way is simply just to win the race, and I didn’t do that today because of some silly things."
Birthday boy Carlos Sainz Jr. finished fourth, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who will replace him at Ferrari next year.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell finished seventh after a dreadful start. He was sandwiched between the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen rounding out the top 10.
Williams debutant Franco Colapinto finished his first F1 race in 12th. That was better than Logan Sargeant – whom he replaced – managed in all but one of his races this year.
Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in two weeks after being handed a two-point penalty for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly. This penalty pushed Magnussen to 12 penalty points over a 12-month period, resulting in a one-race ban. He is the first driver to be suspended since Romain Grosjean in 2012.