There’s a quote in Alchemist, “When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to win and achieve it’ Charles Leclerc achieved his dream for the second time this year, now termed as the King of Italy won the Italian Grand Prix at the royal park in Monza, with a one stop strategy.
McLaren, lost yet another race, Lando Norris who claimed pole in Monza, lost at the first corner of the race when his teammate Oscar Piastri sped past him. While losing position, Leclerc took this advantage and overtook him.
Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s teammate finished fourth on his 30th birthday who almost had the podium but lost it due to tyre degradation. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth while Max Verstappen got P6, gaining just one position ahead his teammate Sergio Perez, and that too because of Russell’s lockout.
Charles Leclerc and his incredible win at Monza
This win for Ferrari was completely unexpected, Leclerc started fourth on the grid but quickly gained two positions as George Russell did a lockup in the first corner. This was however a missed chance as Norris undercut Leclerc and grabbed one-two position, which ultimately they bottled up.
Ferrari chose to do a one stop strategy, with 38 laps on the hard tyres and was a success as he finished first and won the race. When the McLaren drivers pitted for the second time, Ferrari hit their plan and their drivers were on P1 and P2, until for some more laps as McLaren caught up with Carlos Sainz, who missed his podium since the tyres were losing their form. McLaren with their fresher tyres were unable to out qualify Leclerc and by 22 seconds he won his other home race.
‘He won in Monaco and he wins in Monza. Charles Leclerc wins the Italian Grand Prix’.
It wasn’t a win for Ferrari, it was a win for the Tifosi, who come every year to the Monza circuit to watch their team win and Charles Leclerc completed that dream for the second time, previously in 2019. Ferrari isn’t just a team in Italy, it’s a religion and people worship the drivers as gods there. Winning for Ferrari in their team race is a dream for any Ferrari driver, and Charles Leclerc achieved this twice.
When asked about his victory, Charles Leclerc said, he didn’t think there would be a second time, but the feeling of winning here was the same as the first time,this was a special moment for him to win both the home races.
Carlos Sainz also expressed admiration for the team and his teammate’s win, he said it was important for Ferrari and Charles both and driving for four years in Ferrari gave him a wonderful experience, he gave a joyful hug to his teammate after he came out victorious.
McLaren and their another lost win
McLaren being the fastest and dominant car on the grid seemed to have backfired on the car itself, as they had bottled many of the races in the calendar. Lando Norris wasn’t happy at all, how his teammate overtook him, he said he had no other way and lost positions. He also said Ferrari had a fast car and pace, and that’s why they won, which was a complete irony for McLaren.
They committed their mistake when both the drivers pitted one after another, that’s where Charles Leclerc took the lead of the race. They overtook Sainz in the final few laps of the race, but Leclerc was way ahead.
Oscar Piastri said they thought they could win, as the one step strategy was a close risk, but Ferrari did well. He won P2 but at what cost, when he could’ve won the race.
It was a pure chance for McLaren to close points to Red Bull in the Constructors Championship, but again a missed chance. Few more races are left for the 2024 season, and it is to look ahead, would McLaren make a difference to win the Driver’s Championship or the Constructors Championship.
