Italy Race Reaction
Image: Formula One Media
With a thrilling Italian Grand Prix behind us, there’s plenty to analyse! The 93rd running of the Italian Grand Prix was rife with wheel-to-wheel battles but it was Max Verstappen who took the victory in commanding fashion. His win broke Sebastian Vettel’s record for most consecutive race wins, placing Verstappen in a league of his own. Let’s dive into the key highlights of the race!
A tense start
The race start was somewhat complicated as Yuki Tsunoda suffered an engine failure coming out of Curva Alboreto, previously known as Parabolica, resulting in an aborted start. The track marshals attempted to remove Tsunoda’s car within a lap and the cars had to line up on the grid yet again, leaving the cars to require cooling from fans, delaying the start by five minutes.
The track engineers from all the various teams rushed to the cars to tend to the complicated engine systems and to apply the tyre blankets, protecting them from any unnecessary temperature loss. With one lap already technically completed, the drivers would only have 51 laps of (hopefully) green flag racing. After everything was cleared, some 20 minutes after the race was supposed to start, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix was finally underway.
Into Turn 1, Carlos Sainz held the lead from Max Verstappen whilst Charles Leclerc found himself under pressure from George Russell at the start. Oscar Piastri made a great move on Albon to get into sixth, the Thai driver eventually got ahead of the Aussie a lap later. Verstappen clearly had the pace, reporting that Sainz was “sliding a bit” and attempted an overtake into Turn 1 on Lap 6, with Sainz squeezing the Red Bull into the apex.
Sainz, despite reports that his rear tyres were in bad shape, defended valiantly against Verstappen, demonstrating Ferrari’s top speed, at the race where it matters most. Sergio Perez attempted to fight his way past Russell but suffered the same fate as his teammate, clearly displaying the weakness of the Red Bull on the straights.
Image: Formula One Media
Verstappen eventually made the move on Sainz and so did Perez on Russell, unleashing the Bulls to lay down its lightning-quick pace. Sainz was “struggling a lot with the rears,” according to teammate Leclerc, the Ferrari pair also came wheel-to-wheel after the first round of pitstops, with Sainz just staying ahead.
A redeeming performance
Sergio Perez had an amazing race, getting his first podium at Monza since his P2 finish in 2012 for the Sauber outfit. In desperate need of a great performance, the Mexican driver was successful in gaining vital positions, making great moves on Russell, Leclerc, and Sainz.
The Mexican’s great drive gave Red Bull its 28th 1-2 finish, making a great case for his future at the Milton Keynes-based team.
The Mexican made multiple attempts to get ahead of Carlos Sainz, with the Red Bull in a Ferrari sandwich, with Leclerc keeping in the background. The Mexican got ahead of Sainz with just six laps to go, securing a P2 finish.
The Prancing Horse Shines At Home
Ferrari surprised everyone with its unbelievable top speed, keeping Verstappen at bay for a few laps. However, following Verstappen’s overtake, it was a matter of surviving as the Ferrari pair defended from Perez in the interest of a double Ferrari podium at Monza.
Image: Formula One Media
Both Sainz and Leclerc went wheel-to-wheel for the final podium position following Perez’s move on Sainz. Ferrari allowed the drivers to race until the end but Leclerc locked up into Turn 1, spoiling his chances at a top-three finish but it was Carlos Sainz, who started on pole, who claimed the final podium place by just a tenth of a second. Ferrari allowed the drivers to race until the end but Leclerc locked up into Turn 1, denying him a top-three finish.
This commanding performance in front of the Tifosi saw Ferrari jump Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship to claim P3, whether the Scuderia can maintain that position will have to be seen.
Unfinished Business?
Mercedes had a somewhat lacklustre race with Lewis Hamilton P6 and Russell P5. Halfway through the race, Hamilton pitted after leading for a few laps, the seven-time world champion briefly ended up in P2 after his old rival Max Verstappen overtook him into Turn 1 – no necks were injured this time! Hamilton pitted for medium tyres on Lap 27, rejoining the track just behind Fernando Alonso.
With just 15 laps remaining, Hamilton made no difference with his new set of medium-compound tyres, complaining about the state of his tyre wear.
“Now we’re screwed, because I don’t know how these tyres are going to last”
Despite his concerns, Hamiton made his way up the order. The Mercedes made contact with Piastri, damaging the McLaren’s front wing. The race stewards gave Hamilton a five-second time penalty for causing a collision, leaving him to finish P6.
Hamilton has looked to be off the pace all weekend, after besting his younger teammate for a few races now, the 38-year-old simply didn’t have the speed to match Russell, who gained two points on Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, the seven-time world champion sits in P4 just six points behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Russell didn’t have the race he’d envisioned as he dropped down the order due to the great pace of Sergio Perez. The Brit subsequently landed himself a five-second time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage, leaving him to settle for P5 after eyeing up a potential podium.
With the Mercedes pair also signing a contract extension, keeping both Russell and Hamilton at the team until 2025, surely the target for the next two years is to challenge the formidable Red Bull team? It seems there’s a lot to analyse back at the factory in Brackley, we’re sure Mercedes will give it 110% to fight back to the front of the back.
Elsewhere On The Grid…
The fight for P6 was enthralling as Albon, who displayed promising pace in the Williams, struggled with tyre degradation and came under pressure from Norris, Piastri, and Hamilton. Alas, Albon was overtaken by Hamilton with just five laps to go, with Norris and Alonso applying the pressure. Albon’s teammate Logan Sargeant put in an underwhelming drive to come home P13, not a great result for the rookie from Florida.
Speaking of rookies, it was a great race for Liam Lawson who, in just his second F1 race, finished P11 – great stuff from the Kiwi!
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon suffered a horrible fate with a DNF, ending a depressing weekend for the Enstone outfit. Ocon’s teammate, Pierre Gasly, came home in P17, collecting zero points – quite the contrast to his podium last weekend in Zandvoort.
It was also an amazing effort from Valtteri Bottas, who claimed a single point in P10 for Alfa Romeo, a much-needed result at the team’s home race.
Max Verstapp-ten
Image: Formula One Media
