Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle reflects on Charles Leclerc's victory for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix, gives his verdict on Oscar Piastri's first-lap pass on team-mate Lando Norris, and examines Max Verstappen's continued struggles for Red Bull
Tuesday 3 September 2024 00:36, UK
Qualifying for the Italian GP in Monza was a cliff-hanger which generated the closest top six on the grid in F1's 74-year history.
Just 0.186 seconds covered them, and it was so tight that sixth-place man Lewis Hamilton, who has been fastest in qualifying 104 times in his 348 race F1 career, was openly berating himself in the media pen for missing pole position. He even suggested that he's missing something these days and that - newly announced for 2025 to take his seat at Mercedes - Andrea Kimi Antonelli would probably do a better job. You must admire Lewis' relentless competitive spirit.
In the end it was the on-form team of the moment McLaren who locked out the front row from George Russell's Mercedes and Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. We were set for an almighty race, with the 476-metre run from pole position to the first braking point for the tight chicane making everybody feel nervous as usual. The opportunity versus peril ratio down there is always on the negative side.
Unlike more recent races, Lando Norris from an impressive pole position got the perfect launch, moved to the right to defend against his team-mate Oscar Piastri, which also gave the Australian a nice slipstream to defend against Russell.
Piastri then sliced across the front of Russell to defend the outside line into the first chicane which would quickly become the undoing of George, as he lost grip underneath the McLaren gearbox and slewed sideways, leaving him to take the escape road and lose positions. He would also damage his front wing, which would enforce a longer first stop on lap 11 for hard tyres.
This looked like perfect team play from the two McLaren boys covering all the road and exiting the danger zone comfortably first and second. But that didn't last long. Norris was cautious on the brakes into the second chicane and Piastri sliced down the outside of him. Norris quickly released the brakes, but Piastri stuck with it around the outside and claimed the lead as they almost touched.
Norris slid a little sideways which gave him a slow exit and Charles Leclerc wasted no time right up against the grass to seize second place going towards the first Lesmo corner.
Piastri clearly has no interest in Norris' world championship chances against Max Verstappen, which we'd already witnessed in Hungary when he firmly seized the lead in the first corner.
The racer in me admires this attitude. That's why Piastri won championships and ended up in a race-winning F1 car. The last thing which will excite him is Norris becoming world champion in the same car. That doesn't mean he won't help out at some point, and indeed that he hasn't helped out here and there already, but that racer's mentality and killer instinct is all important.
I remember saying in commentary in Hungary, if the roles had been reversed, would Piastri have handed Norris the lead back, and I really don't know the answer. I do know that many ruthless and selfish world champions I've raced against wouldn't have.
Whilst this was all very good for Piastri and Ferrari, it wasn't helpful for team McLaren. They lost control of the race at that moment, they couldn't dictate the optimum pace for the tyres and strategy, and work as a pair using the DRS and pit stop calls to stretch and destabilise their main rivals, which turned out to be Ferrari.
The Reds had aerodynamically trimmed their car with a little less drag and more top speed. This was perhaps not great for qualifying, or indeed tyre preservation, but they felt it was more raceable.
McLaren would pit Norris for hard tyres on lap 14, Ferrari would respond for Leclerc on lap 15, much to the young Monegasque's chagrin as he lost second place to Norris and felt there was a long way to go with 38 laps remaining.
Piastri had enough lead not to need to pit until lap 16 and so once again McLaren were running one and two and surely had this one covered? That's not how it turned out
Meanwhile Red Bull had started Verstappen and Sergio Perez on hard compound tyres on a counter strategy after their relatively lowly grid positions of seventh and eighth. With the front runners racing the wheels and tyres off each other this looked smart, especially in the absence of a safety car. But some scruffy pit stops on laps 22 and 23 respectively, and thereafter relatively poor pace and opting for a two-stop strategy would consign Red Bull to sixth and eighth places.
Max would call the car a 'monster' post race and it all seems too strange. They dominated the early season, and last year in Monza Max won his 10th straight race at a canter. This year he finished 38 seconds behind the winner.
Mercedes were also off the pace in the race which was a surprise, Lewis finishing 22 seconds off the lead and George, given his adventures, some 39 seconds behind.
The main story was out front. Both McLaren drivers had complained of grained front left tyres and were struggling for front grip because of that. Norris also had a trip down the escape bypass road at the second 'Roggia' chicane. He pitted a second time on lap 33, and Piastri too on lap 38.
Ferrari now had track position but surely they couldn't go to the end without changing tyres again? Sainz was struggling a little and was caught by both McLaren's on fresh tyres and demoted to fourth
But out front on four-lap older tyres than his team-mate, Leclerc had a decent lead and, despite the advancing McLarens, as the laps ticked by it became clear that Piastri and Norris needed to catch him at two seconds per lap to overhaul him. Everyone, not least the overwhelmingly supportive Italian fans, began to realise that a glorious victory was possible if Leclerc could somehow coax those tyres to the chequered flag.
Ferrari had played a blinder with one-stopping, and Leclerc, despite his clear reservations, had brilliantly delivered as required. It wasn't a unique strategy, nine of the 19 finishers one-stopped, but it was the right decision on the day providing the car and driver could make it work. They rolled the dice and won.
Many drivers said they didn't think they could have successfully one stopped, including the two McLaren wheelsmiths. Had they been able to dictate the pace in the early stages with full tanks of fuel they may have been able to do so, but on the day, Ferrari were fast enough, and durable enough, to control the race. Cue the most amazing celebration under the best podium in motorsport.
Alex Albon would claim another ninth place in a reasonably strong race for Williams, and a shout out to his new team-mate Franco Colapinto who finished 12th in his debut GP, 14 seconds behind Albon.
Kevin Magnussen finished a fighting 10th for Haas despite attracting a 10-second penalty for generating a collision. Along with the 10 seconds he also gathered two more penalty points on his licence which takes him to the critical 12, meaning he must miss the next race in Baku. This seems harsh, points should only be applied to very serious driving misdemeanours, and otherwise the time penalty itself should suffice.
With eight races remaining, including three Sprint weekends and the extra points available, Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship. That could have been 52 if McLaren had insisted Piastri yielded recently. They didn't want to do that, and they feel Norris doesn't necessarily want to win a championship by having a compliant wingman, but it will be interesting to see what happens next if they really want to apply pressure to Red Bull and Max.
The Constructors' Championship is a different proposition given that McLaren are now just eight points behind Red Bull. But Ferrari are also only 39 points behind, and on current form that looks like a battle now between Ferrari and McLaren for top honours and the first garage in the pitlane next year.
We're still set for an enthralling end to this season.
Formula 1 leaves mainland Europe for Baku and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 13-15, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
