Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc… All the reactions after the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Monza

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🥇- Max Verstappen (Red Bull):

“A great day for us! On the first lap I was a bit unlucky, but then we were flying! The car was very pleasant to drive, the pace was good on the first stint, and we stopped at the right time with the hard tires. I was able to push a little harder. It was perfect execution from the whole team. We were in the mix all weekend, it's really nice to win here. I could see that my pace was good. We were quickly able to take the lead after the first lap. We'll try to have other opportunities of course, we're coming back race after race, but this was a special weekend, incredible.” (F1)

“It’s a great result for everyone, but of course for Laurent! He’s part of the team, it’s our first victory together, and it’s incredible. The gap was very big with the McLarenThe pace was good, very solid on the first stint. We were able to get ahead. We were very happy about that. Then they played to wait for a safety car. The gap would have been smaller if they had followed a normal strategy, but we didn't expect that to happen this weekend." (Canal+)

🥈​- Lando Norris (McLaren):

“I touched the grass a bit. I had to! I tried to maintain my position, even under braking. I knew it was going to be a big battle with Max, and it was. It was nice, but we didn't have the speed or the pace of Max and Red BullIt was a tough race, one of those weekends where you're a little slower, but I still enjoyed it. [about the strategy] I don't know, it's been a while since it happened, but sometimes we make mistakes as a team, and that was one of them. I did everything I could today, I couldn't do more. I tried to fight Max, he had a great race, he deserved his victory. I have to keep the momentum going, second is not bad." (F1)

“We weren’t good enough today. I was hoping to be able to put a bit of pressure on Max but it was clear that they were clearly too fast today. I’m not the happiest being second, I would have preferred to win, but I couldn’t have done better. We’ll learn from what happened, and try to understand how we could have been faster. It’s a difficult day, but we have to accept this second place. [on the fact that] Piastres [Let him go at the end] That's what the team wanted. To give us fair opportunities. If one of us has a bad save like today, for whatever reason, today it was a gun issue, something out of my control. I didn't choose it, but it makes us a good team, it shows that we work together. We're going to win the championship this year, so we don't care what anyone else thinks. (Canal+)

🥉​​​- Oscar Piastri (McLaren):

“It was a difficult start to the race. It wasn't my best first laps, especially since Charles had a competitive car. After that, it was a race I experienced a bit alone. In the first part of the race, the car wasn't exactly what I wanted, the tires weren't what I wanted either, but I accept this position. We were able to stay on track so long that we were able to put on the soft tires at the end. We stayed on track in case of a safety car, but there was no reason to stay on track afterward. Regarding the incident, it's okay. It wasn't a bad weekend. Of course, we would have liked the performance to be better, but there are things to learn from this weekend. We will try to come back stronger.” (F1)

"I think it's something we'll have to discuss with the team, but today it was fair. Lando was in front the whole race, it was good to give him back the position because it wasn't his fault." (Canal+)

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4- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari):

"I think it was difficult to hope for better. McLaren always had an eye on us so they implemented a rather suboptimal strategy for them, hoping, I think, for a safety car until the last moment. They lost a lot of time like that. I think they had the performance to be much closer to Max, but we unfortunately didn't have much more to do unfortunately. I did everything to try to gain a place but I immediately overheated. After that, it was very complicated. For seven or eight laps, I had to try to recover the rear tires which were very hot. It was funny for a few laps, but it wasn't funny at all for many others, but I tried." (Canal+)

5- George Russell (Mercedes):

"We were hoping to be two tenths behind the Classic Ferrari for sale, and even a little further behind the others, so to be lower than that, I was reasonably happy. I don't think we could have done anything better. It's a shame to have lost points to Ferrari in the Constructors' standings, but I'm still happy with the race we drove. It was inspiring to be in contact with Charles. They were so quick on the straights. If I had managed my tires more, maybe it would have been a little different, but it wasn't. It was a pretty open race, quite scrappy for a few laps, but fifth place is where the car deserves to finish today." (F1)

6- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari):

“It was okay. It's not that bad. There wasn't much better to do. I had a good first stint, I was able to make some good overtaking moves… Maybe we could have gone a little faster at the end of the stint, but I managed to go far. The positive thing is that I learned a lot about the car today. Little by little I'm getting used to its behavior. We have to keep making progress.” (Canal+)

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7- Alexander Albon (Williams):

"I wanted to overtake Antonelli early because it was the perfect time for the tires. I think he saw me but he still slowed me down a bit. I didn't give up, I knew I had to get there right after to avoid getting stuck, so I'm happy to have managed this maneuver. We could be fighting until Abu Dhabi (in the championship) with Kimi! We have to stay consistent, even if it wasn't the best day, I'm happy to come back this Sunday." (Canal+)

8- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber):

“The result is as good as it could have been to be honest! I don't think we had much left. We even finished one position ahead of where we should have been thanks to the penalty Kimi took, so I'm grateful for today's result, it's good points we're scoring. We feel like we're doing a good job to help the team achieve good results. The key is hard work. We're working in a good team environment, we're doing a good job as a team, the understanding is good between Nico and I... I think all of that means a lot.” (F1)

9- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes):

“It was a difficult race. I made a mistake right at the start and lost brake traction. I lost a lot of positions at that point and it kind of compromised my race because I ended up at the back of the grid. The speed wasn't bad with the medium tyres, but with the hard compounds, I struggled to find my rhythm. I just need to focus on the next stage and try to do a better job. Qualifying was the positive thing this weekend. I was finally able to find some rhythm, so that's why it's a shame for the race. But I never really got to do a long-run simulation, so that doesn't help. I need to focus on having a cleaner weekend now.” (F1)

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10- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls):

“I had a lot of fun! Honestly, the pace was surprising. We were really fast. I didn't expect such low tire degradation. It was qualifying lap after qualifying lap. We chose the right strategy and went for a good position. [on being 9th in the championship] It counts! It means there are eight drivers on Earth who are better than me (laughs). Since the start of the season, I've adapted pretty quickly to tracks I didn't know. I'm just looking forward to discovering tracks like Singapore or Austin. These are tracks I've never ridden on, so I'm really looking forward to it.” (Canal+)

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11- Carlos Sainz (Williams):

“We had some problems today. We were the last to start on mediums, so it was going to be difficult to make a comeback when all the riders in front of me were starting on the same tires. We extended our stint on the medium tires for a long time, and then we were making a good comeback on the hard tires. I was faster than Bearman, in front, faster than Bortoleto… When I wanted to pass Oliver, unfortunately we touched. That ruined my race with the damage it caused. It wasn't the easiest race, we also had battery problems. It was a tough day at the office. I have to keep pushing, my qualifying pace is there. My race pace is there too. At some point, it will, but I'm not going to lie, it's starting to get frustrating, even depressing.” (F1)

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12- Oliver Bearman (Haas):

“It’s really sad honestly because I felt really good with the car today. We were very fast. I had to fight because our top speed wasn’t the best at all, but without the incident, I think we should have been in the points. I have to look again. Obviously from my point of view I have an opinion but I have to look again without being emotional.” (F1)

13- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull):

“My race was ruined by Liam Lawson to be honest. I suffered significant damage and it really wasn't necessary. I was fighting for points, not him. I didn't expect to get hit like that. I could have expected it, but I didn't expect it in this way. I suffered damage and then I had no rhythm. I'll look at what happened, but for me it's already clear. I don't think I did anything wrong.” (Canal+)

14- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls):

"We took a gamble to try and get something out of it but it didn't work out. In fact, it almost worked but when we came out of the pits, several cars also came out with fresh tyres and we lost a lot of time. It was difficult considering where we were starting from. [on the collision with Yuki] He passed me, I tried to get back in front but he squeezed me in the braking zone. We both went outside the track so I gave him back his position, but on the brakes I was on the edge of the track, it was close." (F1)

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15- Esteban Ocon (Haas):

“I don’t really know if there’s any point in commenting on that penalty. The track gets tighter there. Even if you stay straight, there’s always going to be one car with less room than the other. It wouldn’t have changed my race, but it was a bit disappointing to hear it. It’s not an easy place, with a lot of speed at the start… I’m not sure why I received that penalty, but I’ll take another look. From a pure performance point of view, there’s quite a bit to learn from it. I think that issue in qualifying was clear. We stayed up very late last night trying to look at everything, and the answers came in around 23 p.m. What we were missing was clear. We’ll see if we can rectify it for the next races. These are things we need to improve on because it costs us dearly in a qualifying like this, and it might cost us points this weekend.” (Canal+)

16- Pierre Gasly (Alpine:

"The goal was to stay on track as long as possible, hoping there would be a red flag or a safety car at the end. We know that if you do a classic race, unfortunately you'll finish at the back of the grid. We tried something, unfortunately nothing happened, but we knew it was going to be very complicated on this track. [about his contract] I know what I'm getting into. I know very well that in a few months, the situation will be very different from the situation we are in today. So it's important not to be frustrated by today's performance. From January or February, it will be very different." (Canal+)

17- Franco Colapinto (Alpine:

“It’s difficult. It wasn’t that good today, a long race. I was very alone, I had to try my best despite everything. As a team, we tried different strategies, but it didn’t work. We have to continue working together before Baku to do better in this race. Today we were definitely lacking speed. We’re not fast enough.” (F1)

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18- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin):

[It was the best possible result today, were you expecting a safety car?]

" Yes " 

[How did you feel about the car today?]

"It was okay." (F1)

19 [DNF]- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin):

“Clearly it's not normal. It's even strange, because we've been going over this kerb all weekend, and even again today. Unfortunately it happened to our car, and it happens when you're seventh. That's another six points thrown away. I had to retire in Monaco when I was sixth. Today, I'm having suspension problems being seventh, it's really a frustrating season because we're not getting the points we deserve. We have a competitive car and we have to execute the weekends as best we can. Yesterday was exceptional, today we overtook Antonelli at the start, I overtook Bortoleto in the pits, we really did everything we could but in the end we didn't score any points… I'm really unlucky.” (Canal+)

20 [DNF]- Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber):

“It’s a huge disappointment. The team and I feel the same emotions. It was a hydraulic problem, I don’t know the details yet, we have to investigate, but obviously it’s not great. The weekend other than that was positive. We were competitive on a track like this. It’s also quite similar to Baku, which also requires little downforce, so that’s a positive point.” (F1)

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