Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari HP won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza with a masterful job from the team and an exceptional performance from Charles Leclerc, who managed to make his Hard tyres last longer than anyone else, fending off the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris all the way to the chequered flag.
The team picked up 37 points today, thanks also to a fourth place for Carlos Sainz, more than any other team, which puts it 39 points behind the leader. It is Ferrari’s 246th win, the third this season, the seventh for Leclerc, his second in Monza after his memorable 2019 victory. He is now third in the Drivers’ classification, while Carlos is fifth. As was the case last week in Zandvoort, the team executed its strategy very well and proved flexible when it came to taking a gamble to go with a one-stop when two seemed the most likely course. The decision to run with less aero downforce also proved correct, allowing the drivers to make the most of one of the SF-24’s strong points, namely its ability to be kind on its tyres. The rest was down to Leclerc, who once again proved his class, constantly improving and now an absolute master of tyre management.
The race. After the start, the Ferrari duo made the most of a mistake, from George Russell, in the first chicane to move up to third with Charles and fourth with Carlos. The Monegasque also immediately got the better of Lando Norris to go second after Oscar Piastri had attacked his team-mate aggressively at the Roggia chicane. The Medium tyres showed signs of degradation very early on on all the cars, and Charles’ pace dropped a bit, and he was undercut by Norris to be back in third place. Charles switched to the Hard on lap 15; from then on, his race took a different turn. He did a brilliant job of managing his tyres to go all the way to the flag, unlike the two McLarens that made a second stop. Back in the lead, the Monegasque held a consistent pace, which put him out of reach of Piastri and Norris, allowing him to take a well-deserved win, following on from that unforgettable Monaco victory back in May. Sainz, who turned 30 today, also had a very strong race, switching to Hards on lap 19 before he, too, went all the way to the flag with no further stops. However, both McLarens passed him in the closing stages, having helped Charles by fending off Piastri for a long two laps, when the McLaren couldn’t run at its actual pace.
A sea of red. As always with a Ferrari win, the crowd, a veritable sea of red – wasted no time invading the track on the main straight to start the party under the podium, cheering for the team, the drivers and the team principal, singing at the top of their voices. Tonight, we will enjoy a well-deserved celebration. The Championship resumes in a fortnight’s time on 13 September with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, another of Charles’ favourite tracks.
Carlos Sainz #55
First, congratulations to Charles and the entire team, including those working in Maranello! I’m really happy for them and the tifosi; it’s a well-deserved win! It was a shame I couldn’t keep a podium position today. Staying out and extending the first stint made me lose some race time and the train of tows at the front. From there, it wasn’t easy to make up time, but the call to commit to a one-stop strategy was the right one, and overall, we should be happy that the car seemed to work better. Let’s see if we can keep up the good results in the upcoming races.
Charles Leclerc #16
What an incredible feeling. The first time I won in Monza in 2019 was so emotional for me and our team. I didn’t think winning here could ever feel like that again, but it did today. Seeing our Tifosi celebrating with us is fantastic, and I am so glad we could share this victory again. Monaco and Monza were the two races I have always wanted to win because they are so special to me. A huge thank you to everyone on our team who made this happen today. You have done an incredible job to make this dream a reality, and we can all be proud to have achieved this together. We had a perfectly executed strategy today and beat our competitors to it. We will give everything to keep this momentum for the rest of the season, taking any opportunity we have.
Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal
What a mega result for the team! This is a real confidence booster for our Tifosi, who made the difference this weekend, and us. It was a perfect race where Charles drove incredibly well, and we thoroughly deserved this win. After qualifying, we were disappointed because we knew we had the potential to do very well. From the beginning of the season, we were probably in better shape on race pace than in qualifying, which is the case also today. Once again, the execution was perfect, and we could turn things around. Last year, tyre management was our biggest weakness, but now, it’s one of our advantages with this car. It was already the case last week in Zandvoort, and now we are consistent in terms of race pace to the point that we did think it might be a two-stop. Still, we saw very low degradation in the second stint and changed our strategy accordingly. Charles raced with control all the time. It was a risk, but sometimes you have to take risks, and today, it worked. We worked well as a team and knew that Carlos could help if we did a one-stop with the two cars. He also helped us with feedback on the tyres because it’s essential to have two opinions and two different sources of information, and we were quite relaxed on this front.
John Elkann, Ferrari Chairman
Winning on home turf in Monza is a unique feeling. This win is for all our fans who always support us and gave Charles that extra push over the final few laps today. Congratulations to the team united in their efforts to get everything right, making this Ferrari win possible.
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