His win means Verstappen now leads Leclerc by 116 with six races remaining (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)
Max Verstappen finished Formula 1’s post Summer European break on a high by making it three-out-of-three after winning a safety car concluded Italian Grand Prix at Monza ahead of Ferrari favourite Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell.
A race that had been about strategy from the get-go, Verstappen took control after hitting the lead on lap 13 as the race became neutralised under the Virtual Safety following a suspected powerunit related retirement for Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel on lap 12.
Despite starting from seventh on the grid compared to pole-sitter Leclerc and second place starter Russell, who got a fractionally better start than the Monegasque, the combination of pace and opting for the right tyres when it mattered most saw the Dutchman controlling the pace, only loosing out to the Ferrari in the pits with his lead at one point being over 20 seconds.
In spite of what appeared to be a looming challenge from Leclerc in the latter stage as the Ferrari’s faster soft tyres started firing-up, any thoughts of a challenge disappeared altogether as the safety car appeared on lap 47 after the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo came to a stop with suspected engine failure.
With six laps remaining, it looked set to be a final nail-biter at Formula 1’s Temple of Speed as the deployment of the Aston Martin Vantage came on the back of both Verstappen and Leclerc having passed the pitlane entry whereas everyone behind, including Russell, made for their garages for a new set of tyres.
A lead of over 20 seconds though was enough for Verstappen to pit and re-join ahead of Leclerc, who in-turn filtered back onto the track well ahead of Russell after his final stop.
While it was hoped for a grandstand finish, problems moving the stationary McLaren, which appeared to have stopped in-gear and therefore unable to move without the assistance of a crane, eventually saw the final few laps being conducted under Safety Car conditions, much to the displeasure of the booing tifosi who had hoped for a repeat of Leclerc’s victory three years ago.
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In spite of Verstappen’s win, a somewhat mystified Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, remarked that the conclusion should have taken place without the Safety Car’s involvement for so long.
“There was enough time to get that race going. we would have liked to win the race on the track, not behind the Safety Car. We share the disappointment of all the fans, because it took away a grandstand finish,” Horner told SkyF1 afterwards.
“It goes against the principles of what we’ve discussed previously. The biggest losers were the fans. We need to look quickly to address that. We need to go through details, but for me there was enough time, we had a car that wasn’t in a barrier, it was just by the side of the track”.
Similarly, a disappointed Leclerc told SkyF1 commentator and former driver Martin Brundle during the post-race interviews, “the end was frustrating, I wish we could have had a bit of a race. Unfortunately, we were second because of what happened before”.
Behind the top three, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth ahead of seven-times champion Lewis Hamilton, both having started at the back following a collection of penalties related to powerunit component changes before qualifying.
Despite an initial worry after exiting the pits with overheating brakes that triggered a small fire at his first stop, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, crossed the line sixth followed by the second McLaren of Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
In the sensation of the race, 2019 Formula 2 champion, Nyck de Vries, scored his points of the season after a calculated and hard-fought battle towards the end with the final points paying finisher, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.
Long rumoured to have been in the running for an F1 seat, Mercedes backed de Vries, who walked away with 2020-2021 all-electric Formula E series in addition to being the Silver Arrows’ current test and reserve driver, ran in the top-ten for the most of the race with his debut coming as a result of regular Williams driver Alex Albon’s appendicitis diagnosis before qualifying.
With the retirements of Vettel, his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Ferando Alonso with a reported water leak that resulted in a loss of power, the remaining positions were filled by the latter’s teammate Esteban Ocon, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, the second Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, Gasly’s AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda, the Williams of Nicholas Latifi and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
After three back-to-back races, the final in Europe, the championship takes its customary two-week break before heading to Singapore on 30 September for the final six races of the year with Verstappen odds-on favourite to clinch his second title at said event.
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