Leclerc one-stop strategy defeats McLarens to give Ferrari home win
Charles Leclerc delighted Ferrari’s home crowd in a strategic triumph to beat Oscar Piastri to victory at the Italian Grand Prix, after hanging onto the tyres in a one-stop strategy.
Leclerc managed to hold on from a rapidly closing Piastri, who had much fresher tyres thanks to a two-stop strategy, and crossed the line with a 2.664-second lead – the crowd becoming more audibly ecstatic in the closing laps as the tactical gambit became clear.
The Monegasque looked set to follow the pack on a two-stopper, a decision he had initially questioned as Ferrari responded to an undercut attempt from polesitter Lando Norris.
Norris looked like he had got over his first-lap wobbles with a clean start to cover off team-mate Piastri from pole, but appeared surprised by Piastri’s overtake attempt around the outside at the Variante della Roggia. This put Norris off-line, allowing Leclerc to also trickle through.
Although the Ferrari driver could not stay in touch with Piastri, it became clear that the overall level of tyre wear was moving the race into two-stop territory, a strategy that McLaren opted to gravitate towards with relatively early opening stops.
Leclerc lost track position through his earlier-than-expected reaction to Norris, but crucially managed to maintain tyre performance.
And, although McLaren asked Piastri if he was able to one-stop, the Australian responded in the negative – giving Leclerc the lead from team-mate Carlos Sainz.
With neither Ferrari stopping again, Sainz managed to do his part in keeping Piastri at bay for a handful of laps, stalling the Australian enough to ensure Leclerc had more buffer to play with.
This culminated in an enthralling final few laps with Piastri scything away at Leclerc’s lead with a considerable tyre advantage – but, ultimately, it proved not to be enough; Leclerc instead ignited waves of euphoria around the Monza circuit.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 battles with Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Piastri admitted that it “hurt” to finish second, noting that the graining issue that afflicted the McLarens might have cleared up with more laps, but nonetheless had cut a gap that stood at 11.9s after he had passed Sainz to 2.7s in just nine laps.
Norris recovered to third, having not expected Piastri’s first-corner move; the two were granted permission to race, but Norris was unable to sufficiently close in on his team-mate throughout the race – having particularly been stymied by the contra-strategy runner Max Verstappen as the Dutchman sought to help his championship cause.
Sainz hit the limit of his tyres despite a four-lap advantage over Leclerc, losing his grasp on a podium place to both McLarens at the close of the race, but nonetheless had enough margin to stay ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
Hamilton had warded off an early assault from Verstappen that set him up for fifth, as the Red Bull driver suffered a slow stop and a lacklustre final stint to make no inroads towards the Mercedes driver. George Russell recovered from a first-lap off, having been pinched by Piastri at the start, and front wing damage to finish seventh.
The Briton battled gamely with Sergio Perez and shrugged off the Mexican’s robust defence to steal past.
Alex Albon was classified ninth, albeit after finishing behind Kevin Magnussen on the road; the Dane was handed a 10s penalty for a minor clash with Pierre Gasly during his ascent up the order – the two concluding one-stop strategies in the points.
Fernando Alonso missed out on the top 10 by just 0.193s when Magnussen’s penalty was applied, as Franco Colapinto finished his first F1 race in 12th.
