Max Verstappen wins on Ferrari grounds at Monza

The fans prayed that an incident would disrupt the good order established by Max Verstappen (Red Bull) at the Italian Grand Prix this Sunday, September 11. The retirement on the 48th lap (out of 53) of Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) aroused the interest of Italian fans at Monza, but the Safety Car did not release the pack until the checkered flag was lowered by motorcycle Grand Prix legend, Giacomo Agostini.

2022 Italian Grand Prix ranking:

Starting in seventh position, the outgoing world champion, and current leader of the Drivers' classification, had an ideal race, almost without incident. Slightly less impressive than at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks earlier, the performance of the wearer of the No. 1 was still very solid on the Autodrome de Monza.

The implementation of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) following the abandonment of Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) on the 12th lap was the turning point of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix. Team Ferrari then invited its driver Charles Leclerc, polesitter and comfortable leader of the race, in the pits to put on medium tires, unlike Max Verstappen, who remained on a one-stop tactic, an option often favored at Monza.

In hindsight, the Reds' bet was not the most inspired. Charles Leclerc tried to hold his tires as long as possible but the pace of the Red Bull was too fast to compete. A second trip to the pits to take the soft tires was inevitable, and despite a compound that was apparently more grippy, the Monegasque never caught up.

Ricciardo's abandonment between the Lesmo curves on lap 48 revived interest in the race; Charles Leclerc took the opportunity to switch to soft tires with the prospect of a Safety Car and an express restart of one or two laps, but the race direction showed conservatism. The Grand Prix therefore concluded under a Safety Car regime, without offering a chance for a spectacular restart as was the case in Zandvoort (Netherlands) the previous week. There is no doubt that Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) would have liked to experience a similar scenario at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…

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In the anonymity of this Red Bull-Ferrari remote duel, George Russell (Mercedes) climbs to the last step of the podium, ahead of Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Hamilton, and Sergio Pérez (Red Bull). The seven-time world champion delighted aesthetes with a double overtake coming out of the first chicane on Lando Norris, 7th for McLaren, and Pierre Gasly, 8th at Alpha Tauri.

Behind the leading teams, the fight for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship turned in favor of McLaren. On the ground of their ultimate victory in F1 a year earlier, Norris grabbed six points whileAlpine experienced difficulties. Fernando Alonso gave up due to a mechanical problem while he was in the top 10, while his teammate Esteban Ocon misses out on points after starting far away due to a grid penalty.

One of the sensations of the day can be found in the clan Williams. No, it's not about Nicholas latifi, ranked penultimate, but from his teammate from the Italian weekend, Nyck de Vries. The world champion of Formula E 2020/21 with Mercedes was urgently called by the English team in order to replace a Alexander albon suffering from appendicitis moments before Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning.

The Dutch driver therefore made his official Grand Prix debut at Monza. At 27, the former prospect has exceeded the expectations placed on him. Permanently in the top 10, he was able to defend his rank dearly against Guanyu-Zhou (Alfa Romeo) to record the points for the 9th position. Enough to allow him to dismiss his teammate Nicholas Latifi to 21st place in the Drivers' championship!

Deprived of points since Montreal, Frédéric Vasseur's men grab a unit with Zhou's beautiful 10th place. After a slight improvement, Aston Martin is experiencing a worrying relapse in the Temple of Speed. Eliminated from Q1, Lance stroll and Sebastian Vettel both had to retire from the race.

14 years after his first success in F1, signed with Toro Rosso in 2008, the quadruple world champion will at least have had the pleasure of being properly welcomed by the many fans gathered around the old autodrome.