Monza: The Rundown (F1)

Friday...

FP1:

Monza: home of the famous Tifosi, a horde of fans who rival the orange army, however the Tifosi have an affinity for the colour red. Although the Italian fans weren’t in full force in practice, a certain anticipation hung in the air. The fans were ready and the drivers were raring to go for this sprint race weekend- the second showcase of the format, after Silverstone, with one more to come.

The green light at the exit of the pitlane was shown and on track action at Monza began. Almost immediately as the session started, Charles Leclerc on cold tyres missed Turn 1 completely, taking to the escape road over the sausage kerbs. Luckily this was just cold tyres not working at optimum efficiency and Charles went on to complete more laps in front of the Ferrari fans, much to their delight.

Worryingly for Lando Norris, he complained of a spongy brake pedal which usually indicates a break failure is imminent. This was probably a direct consequence of the car being taken apart and rebuilt between races but luckily it was nothing that a quick trip to the pits wouldn't fix. After a few tweaks, Lando was back out on track.

Now, it wouldn’t be a weekend in Monza without drivers complaining about going too slowly through Parabolica (now named Curva Alboretto) because they wanted the gap and slipstream for a fast lap. This came to blows when rookies Yuki Tsunoda and Nikita Mazepin almost collided in the last corner trying to get a gap for a flying lap. Luckily both drivers backed out after a brief wheel bang and ended the session without damage.

Like in Spa the fans were treated to a bit of the high-tech (but super tiny!)helmet camera within George Russell’s helmet this time. Although having a good view of the track there was a slight problem that George sits very high in the cockpit of his Williams due to his height, meaning that most of the lap he is looking down at the screen in front of him so the track isn’t very visible for us as viewers, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

Despite being cautious about expectations , Charles Leclerc was showing good pace in his Ferrari at their home race, however this was dampened slightly when Charles' fastest time was deleted for track limits - he ended the session P11.

But as always the usual suspects of Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas led the field in that order after the first hour of practice. From what we could gather from this session, Mercedes had a slight straight line speed advantage compared to Red Bull.

Now as this was a sprint race weekend, FP1 led into qualifying on a Friday, so it was time to put what the teams learnt in that one hour into qualifying for the sprint race!

Q1:

With 18 minutes in the session and only one hour of prior practice, the pit lane and the track was unusually silent as the session was given the green light. Perhaps it wasn’t so surprising given a tow is highly sought after at the Temple of Speed.

Finally it was the home favourites to release a car onto the track- Leclerc- and then Sainz and Schumacher followed. Schumacher was able to set a lap time, perhaps aided by Sainz in front of him, but his track position was fruitless as his lap time was deleted for track limits. With times on the leaderboard, the benefit of the tow was evident to everyone as Sainz sat three tenths ahead of Leclerc.

As cars gradually emerged on track, the timing sheets quickly changed. Verstappen went faster, and then Norris went faster by a significant five tenths with a 1:21.681. This was perhaps surprising, especially as McLaren didn’t run any soft tyres in FP1 so had little idea of the prime setup. Lando didn’t head the grid for long though, as Lewis Hamilton toppled him with the fastest first and second sector. Bottas backed up his teammate in second. Meanwhile, the Ferraris formerly one and two had wound up far down the order and at risk of elimination as the track evolved.

Ferrari released Leclerc again for a second lap to try and provide themselves with breathing room, but it was just a struggle to escape the pit lane as Leclerc was forced to avoid Mazepin being released from the Haas garage. The stewards quickly noted the incident.

There wasn’t only traffic in the pit lane, but on track too as everyone crawled round Monza seeking track position. Max Verstappen was particularly frustrated on a flying lap as he felt he was impeded by squabbling traffic. Gasly shared similar sentiments when he too was impeded towards the end of his flying lap.

Hamilton, despite radioing “That lap was OK” to his team, topped the timing sheets from Bottas and Verstappen. The Mercedes teammates were largely safe, with clean air for their final runs in Q1, whilst the rest of the grid, all released at a similar time, squabbled for position behind Latifi. Latifi’s only benefit was that he could warm up his tyres better than those desperately seeking a tow. Many drivers and their teams were concerned that they’d fail to cross the line before the chequered flag signalled the end of the session, and Daniel Ricciardo decided to pit instead of deal with the traffic.

After everyone emerged from the traffic jam, those eliminated were Latifi, Tsunoda, Schumacher, Kubica and Mazepin (Russell getting lucky after Tsunoda’s lap time was deleted, which promoted the Brit to P15 and Q2). The missing Alfa Romeo of Giovinazzi was doing well at his home circuit meanwhile, sitting pretty in P6.

Q2:

After complaining about engine braking in Q1, the Ferrari mechanics were investigating Charles Leclerc’s car to see if they could resolve any issues. If they couldn’t, it may have ended in devastation for the Tifosi. Fortunately, that was not the case, but he wouldn’t have Sainz ahead for a friendly tow and would have to try with Ricciardo. However, his technical struggles were not over, despite his appearance on track.

Red Bull were the first cars out, attempting to execute a tow for Verstappen outside of any traffic congestion. The benefits of the tow were obvious when Verstappen went four tenths faster than Perez’s 1:21.146. Their strategy was still not enough to trump the Silver Arrows who both went quicker than Verstappen as Hamilton assumed top position once again.

It was then announced that Bottas would have to start from the back of the grid on Sunday, after replacing numerous power unit components- leaving Red Bull with one less Mercedes to deal with on Sunday.

There was more drama for Mercedes in the pit lane when Hamilton had a close shave with Stroll, though replays ultimately showed no contact. Verstappen, fed up by the shenanigans, overtook four cars as they exited the pit lane.

Predictably as the session ended, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren (despite just managing to get over the line in time for a final lap) got both cars through to the final stage of qualifying. Perez cut it close too, scraping through by 0.031 seconds, but almost understandably as he was used as a tow for teammate Verstappen. A late improvement from Leclerc prevented any shock for the Tifosi, which pushed Vettel out of Q3, the former Ferrari driver joined by his teammate, two Alpines, and Russell, who looked to be having a quiet weekend.

Q3:

Mercedes, the favourites for pole position, came out first, and Bottas was the first to commence his hot lap. In an foreshadowing event that could be inferred as “eat my dust”, the Finn dropped a wheel into the gravel exiting the second chicane. At that moment however, it cost him P1 and his teammate went to the top of the time sheets instead, Verstappen behind. The McLaren drivers were behind the top two.

In a largely uneventful session, where with only 10 drivers left there was less traffic to combat, the fight for pole was again between Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers. Verstappen failed to find any improvement, but Bottas meanwhile was taking advantage of an evolving track and went quickest in Sector 1 and 2 to take pole with 1:19.55 seconds. Hamilton could only settle for P2, 0.096 seconds away from pole.

The grid set for Saturday’s sprint race, in order, would be Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Ricciardo, Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc, Perez and Giovinazzi. Red Bull were really hoping that Perez would be further up the order to open their strategy options, so Sergio would have lots of work in the sprint.

“I feel good, I feel relaxed, and everything is sorted for the future.” - Valtteri Bottas

“Obviously it wasn’t the best, but we also know that this track isn’t our best track, just because of the long straights.” - Max Verstappen

Saturday...

FP2:

A fairly quiet session on Saturday, most of the teams were focussed on the tyre data gathering rather than outright qualifying pace because the qualifying had been competed on Friday. This data would inform their strategy on high fuel come Sunday’s race and therefore it was important to make the most of the practice time they were given.

However this was cut slightly short when a very hefty crash involving Carlos Sainz spinning at Ascari and then veering uncontrollably back onto the track occurred. Luckily Carlos hadn’t been majorly hurt but was clearly shaken by the experience, not helped by the fact that sprint qualifying was coming up and the mechanics now had a huge task to fix the car in time. The clock was now ticking for Ferrari.

The home team's luck didn’t improve when Charles Leclerc asked to box but with the vague, ambiguous reason “ I cannot tell you here”. He parked up and entered the garage with no explanation to the public - it was then speculated that Charles was ill and had to pull out because it was dangerous for him to keep exerting himself. Dizziness was his prominent symptom.

Much like our first practice session, the magic trio of Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas appeared at the top of the timings with the Mercedes pace advantage clear to Red Bull.

Due to the sprint race format, FP2 was the final practice session of the weekend and the teams would be analysing all their data for the F1 sprint.

Sprint Qualifying...

George Russell retained the helmet camera all of us F1 fans have fallen in love with for the sprint race, and we caught a glimpse of his view on the formation lap.

Italy had been pretty warm all weekend (despite Lando Norris’ choice to wear jumpers) and the track temperature was 43 degrees, so tyre degradation could be high with the opportunity for overtaking and the added heat. The soft tyre would be the optimum compound for getting away well after lights out, but the medium compound would definitely be better in the long run, and it would be up for the teams to decide on their strategy. Predictably nobody booted on the hard tyre, reserved for the race on Sunday- the McLarens and Aston Martins opted for used soft tyres; Alpine and Tsunoda chose fresh soft tyres; whilst the rest of the field went for the slightly safer medium tyre.

Bottas lined up on pole, with Hamilton poised alongside him to get the best getaway and lead out of the chicane, with ideally Bottas between him and his championship rival Verstappen. Yet Hamilton had a disastrous getaway when the red lights went out, Verstappen slotting into P2 and both McLarens on their soft tyres also passing the Brit who desperately needed all the points he could get to stabilise the championship battle.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long until a safety car was announced, perhaps inevitable with 20 cars heading into a tight chicane at the end of the straight. Gasly, carrying a bit too much momentum into the chicane, had nothing to do but bump into Daniel Ricciardo in front of him, damaging his front wing. Sparks were flying as he battled round the outside of Hamilton into the next right-hand corner, but with his downforce severely compromised and his front wing under his floor, Gasly spun off into the gravel and then the wall. Fortunately he was physically okay, something he confirmed on the Alpha Tauri radio.

This wasn’t the only incident- it simply got worse for Alpha Tauri, when their second driver Yuki Tsunoda made contact with Robert Kubica, the Pole stepping into Kimi Raikkonen’s seat for a second time also ending up in the gravel. Despite losing time (which he could regain with the safety car), Kubica came off more lightly than Tsunoda who was forced to pit for a new front wing, sending him to the back of the field.

The safety car ended on lap 3, and Bottas secured a strong start ahead of Verstappen, with the two McLarens and Hamilton trying to take advantage of one another. It would be an uneventful restart as the top ten remained the same, and Max was not in a position to play the pace advantage card, as by lap 5 Valtteri Bottas had extended his lead to 1.6 seconds. With Mercedes’ car advantage indicated, it was expected that Lewis Hamilton would be able to quickly pass his former team McLaren, who were on the softs, and then be able to chase down Verstappen on equal tyres. Immediately in front of him there were hints that Norris was already struggling with grip on his soft tyres- or perhaps he was just pushing to the limit to stay ahead of his fellow Brit- when Lando received a warning for track limits at Turn 11.

With no changes at the front of the field, we looked to battles further back, and things got interesting between Perez and Stroll in the battle for P9. Racing into Turn 1, Perez attempted to slip past the Aston Martin car but had an uncomfortable trip over the bumps which controversially gave him the position. Eventually the Red Bull driver was instructed to give the place back, but retook P9 the next lap in a legal way. Alonso was ready to take advantage of any openings behind in P11, but Stroll managed to maintain his position. On lap 15 the incident began to be investigated by the stewards, concerned that Perez did not give the place back quickly enough and gained an advantage therefore. In another new fan favourite feature, we heard Red Bull question Michael Masi as to why their driver was under scrutiny, but the event ended happily for Red Bull as no further action was taken.

Looking back to the head of the field, Bottas still held a comfortable lead over Max, with Daniel Ricciardo looking promised to start on the front row of a race since Mexico 2018 (after Bottas’ grid penalty for changing his power unit). His teammate Lando Norris was still defending from Lewis Hamilton, who despite DRS couldn’t make the overtake on the McLaren with lasting soft tyres.

The second and penultimate sprint race of the season then concluded as Bottas crossed the line on the 18th and final lap. The Finn would earn three points for his work, but wouldn’t earn pole for Sunday’s race- an award which would go to Verstappen. Bottas would have to work hard from the back of the grid for his first race win since Russia 2020, which would have been much easier if he retained that P1. Ricciardo was the final driver to collect points from this sprint race, with his teammate backing him up behind, with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes placed to hunt them both down on Sunday. Hamilton has certainly suffered from the introduction of sprint races- he lost his pole at Silverstone due to the sprint race, and in Monza he would line up P4. Home favourites Ferrari would fill the third row.

Instead of the wreaths which were awarded at Silverstone, the top three drivers received medals- fitting in the presence of the new Olympic 100m gold medalist, Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs.

Sunday...

So with the aftermath of F1’s second sprint on the paddock's mind, we moved to the main event; 52 laps around the temple of speed. And who would come out as king of the castle? Well if you haven't seen the action you must be living under a rock (or just saving yourself to read this rundown!)

The Race...

Starting with a free tyre choice due to the sprint format making its comeback, we were once again blessed with a Maxiel front row for the first time since 2018, due to Valtteri taking a grid penalty in order for Mercedes to introduce a fourth engine into rotations. Then followed the other McLaren of Lando Norris, Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari duo of Leclerc & Sainz, home hero Antonio Giovinazzi then Perez and Stroll rounding out the top 10. Travelling from the pits to the grid it was then heartbreak round 2 for Pierre Gasly in his Alpha Tauri as he reported issues with a sticky brake pedal and problems surrounding his front suspension seeing him back into the garage for last minute repairs and tweaks. It was then that literally as the pitlane closed the sister Alpha Tauri was seen being rushed back to the garage with suspected mechanical issues leaving Yuki Tsunoda as a DNS. It was devastation for Alpha Tauri at their home race.

With all cars in the top 10 bar Lewis starting on the yellow striped medium tyres from lights out we were treated to Daniel in his papaya car bolting down into Turn 1 to come out ahead of championship leader Max with his teammate also taking advantage and risking it all for a very brave but well executed move into 3rd place ahead of said Mercedes. It's important to note Lewis did initially get past to attempt some moves on Max, however this did lead to a short lived investigation from the stewards with number 44 arguing he was forced off the track. Further down the grid there was a bit of jostling for position with George losing a few places and contact between the two Ferraris and number 99, who I can assure you is Giovanazzi, not Kubica (*cough Crofty ough*) The tagging of the Alfa Romeo led to an interesting message from a clearly shaken Charles and Antonio being given a 5 second penalty for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner.

Things from then stayed pretty consistent with the papaya car comfortably leading by a fluctuating gap of 1-2 seconds with Dutchman Verstappen behind coming over the radio pleading it was hard to keep up with his former Red Bull team mate. The same can't be said for 005 Sebastein Vettel as a first lap collision with his teammate left him trailing 3 places and scraping the fridges of the points. Through all this, Lando was once again proving himself future world champion material as he was kept on his feet delivering defensive move after defensive move in order to maintain position.

From starting in the pitlane, it again wasn't to be for last years winner Pierre Gasly as he was forced to retire 5 laps in with an ‘undriveable’ car. Backmarker Bottas was also on the hunt for justice and the podium he had promised the team and media the day before having already made up places having no mercy! Despite McLaren being very content with their current positions, their closest rivals were not able to keep up with their excess of pace and made sure SkySports viewers were aware of the predicament.

On the theme of penalties, Estseban Ocon was the next to fall prey after pushing Vettel wide and forcing him off the racing line as he attempted to overtake.

The Australian honey badger was first to take the risk and box on lap 22, with Max being released and encouraged to ‘give it everything’ despite constant complaints of wrecked tyres. A faultless stop from the McLaren boys and girls meant Daniel was able to come out around P6 with everyone else ahead still having to box. Next to roll the dice was Red Bull bringing in the number 33 car, however they must have gotten snake eyes with the agonisingly slow stop totalling nearly 12 seconds, a rare mistake from the guys normally producing sub 2-second stops. Meanwhile, Lewis finally got past his fellow Brit and was then called in to box on lap 26, with another slow stop of 4.2 seconds, leaving him neck and neck with his championship protagonist.

What came next could end up being detrimental in the title fight as the two collided going through Variante del Rettifilo. Max going round the inside with nerves of steel went to make a move but clipped his underside on the sausage curbs, his Red Bull literally taking flight and launching onto the roll bars of the Mercedes as they rounded the corner leaving both cars beached, one on top of the other. Naturally the stewards stored the incident in their post-race bank, eventually coming to the decision to penalise Max, with him carrying a 3 place grid drop and 2 extra license points into round 15 in Sochi. Thank the F1 gods again for the Halo and safety procedures in place for freak occasions like these. When later replays emerged, the proximity of Max’s tyre and Lewis’ head shocked us all.

In the closing stages, Sergio Perez decided to push his luck slightly, pulling an illegal overtake with a lasting advantage on Charles without giving back the position, leaving him with yet another 5 second penalty and a net P5 at the checkered flag. Unfortunately for Charles, who hadn't been feeling well all weekend, the best he could secure was P4 with his challenge to Bottas falling away in the end. Someone else being told to hurry up was actually your race winner, with team games leaving Lando no choice but to urge his teammate forward without switching positions in order to maintain the gap to the clutches of DRS behind.

Russian native Nikita Mazepin then had engine issues, causing his race to finish on lap 40 or 41 whilst Daniel went on to finish his dominant charge, a short virtual safety car period, with the fastest lap and driver of the day bringing home the first McLaren 1-2 since 2012 in Interlagos with Lando scoring his best result in Formula 1 in his 51st race. To complete the podium, as promised and alluded to by his speed, number 77 of Valteri Bottas.

Places 6-10 were eventually occupied by Sainz, Stroll, Alonso and Russel in P9; adding yet another haul of points to Williams' fight with Alfa and Haas, for the third time in 4 races. Ocon completed the points finishers in 10th place. It was then Nicholas Latifi who took P11, ahead of Vettel in 12th. Antonio Giovinazzi could only recover to 13th after his Lap 1 incident, temporary teammate Robert Kubica finishing 1 place behind in 14th with Mick Shumacher finishing at the tail end of the race finishers in p15.

Our final thoughts from today will be summed up by our double shoey duo with Lando finalising his race with ‘’What an awesome weekend. We've been working toward this and to finally get the 1-2, so happy!’’ and Daniel expressing his gratitude to the Woking team with words echoing ‘’For those of you who thought I'd gone, I never left! Just stepped aside for a while. That was for the papaya team!’’ We will see you in two weeks for the continuation of this mega season in Sochi, a typically Mercedes favourable track… But again we said that for France and this weekend.