The 2022 Italian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2022) was a Formula 1 motor race held on 11 September 2022 at the Monza Circuit in Monza, Italy. Daniel Ricciardo entered the race as the defending winner, having triumphed at the previous Italian Grand Prix. The event took place across the weekend of 9–11 September, and it was the sixteenth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship. A minute's silence was observed before the first practice session on Friday, as well as before the race on Sunday, in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on 8 September 2022. Several teams further commemorated the Queen on their liveries, including Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, Haas, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Additionally, Ferrari used a special livery to mark the 75th anniversary of the car company. Heading into the event, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with a 109-point advantage over Charles Leclerc (second) and his teammate Sergio Pérez (third). The Red Bull Racing team led the Constructors' Championship, holding a 135-point lead over Ferrari and 165 points over Mercedes. During the weekend, there were numerous allegations concerning management issues and fan harassment. One Twitter user reported that a local fan demanded others remove items supporting Max Verstappen, and another video showed fans making sexist comments about Verstappen's mother, Sophie Kumpen. Race organizers faced criticism for a lack of security in the grandstands, and several fans complained about event mismanagement. For instance, circuit organizers required fans to pay for food and drink using token coins instead of cash or credit cards. Additionally, food preparation took over two hours due to a website crash. In the build-up to the race, AlphaTauri, the constructor affiliated with Red Bull Racing through shared ownership, issued an official statement rejecting accusations of misconduct at the previous Dutch Grand Prix. The Italian team was accused by some of orchestrating the retirement of its Japanese driver, Yuki Tsunoda, who had stopped on track, returned to the pits, and then retired completely by parking his car at the side of the track to facilitate a victory for Red Bull Racing and world champion Max Verstappen. Some accused Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull Racing’s strategy chief, of masterminding the incident. Toto Wolff, Mercedes' team principal, had even suggested the possibility of an investigation into the matter. Speaking instead of the upcoming Italian Grand Prix, in Scuderia Ferrari, the Team Principal Mattia Binotto explains his passion for car racing and for the Maranello-based team:
"It began when I was a child. The one who was really keen on cars and Ferrari in my family was my grandfather and he passed onto me that enthusiasm for the Prancing Horse and brought me closer to Formula 1. He never missed a race on TV and I watched them with him. Gradually, as I was growing up, I was drawn to the Scuderia, its people and drivers. I was a huge Gilles Villeneuve fan, because he always gave it his all, whatever the car he was given to drive. Growing up in Switzerland, Ferrari was a bit like the national team for me. Every time it won, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I felt really proud of being Italian".
On the Monza circuit, Binotto declares:
"This circuit holds a unique place on the calendar as it is a super fast track, the only one of the season, which makes it particularly tough on engines and cars. Here, the power unit is at its maximum for four fifths of the lap and it has to work perfectly. The race flies by, with 53 laps run at a very fast pace, so there is no room for mistakes from the drivers, because usually there’s no time to recover".
The Ferrari’s Team Principal has no doubts about the environment and the warmth of the fans around the circuit:
"Monza, which actually celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is an iconic motorsport venue. The Italian Grand Prix is special for all Italian teams, particularly so for us and I believe it is also for Formula 1 in general. One of the reasons all the teams like coming here is the fans. The tifosi are demanding and knowledgeable. They can also be wild and, personally, I will never forget witnessing the track invasion from the pit wall after Charles won here in 2019. They give you all their love, they support you even when things aren’t going your way and so they push you to do better and better. Seeing them rush to stand under the podium is a really special emotion and this weekend, we will be doing our utmost to give them the result they want".
Mercedes’ Team Principal Toto Wolff analyzes the previous Grand Prix in Zandvoort and projects himself with some optimism for the weekend in Monza:
"We didn't have the fastest car across the Dutch GP weekend, but the team did a fantastic job putting us in the mix to win the race and we need to ensure we're in that position on a more regular basis. We took some risks in Zandvoort and not all of them worked; we exist to fight for victories and will never shy away from making bold decisions. We scored good points in our chase for P2 in the championship and it was fun to be back in the fight. Through everyone's hard work, we're edging closer to that first win of the season. Emotions were running high on social media after the last race, but hate speech and abuse directed at our Team and our competitors have no place in F1. We compete hard on the track but we always have respect for our rivals. This intense triple-header wraps up in Monza, an iconic venue with a rich history and heritage in motorsport, and of course the sea of red Tifosi. While Zandvoort suited our car, Monza is likely to be a more challenging weekend owing to the circuit characteristics. But we're optimistic we'll be in better shape than other low-downforce tracks like Spa, thanks to our learning since then, and be pushing hard to be fighting for the podium once again".
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc says he is enthusiastic about the affection received from his home crowd and is ready to give his best on the team’s home weekend:
"I don’t feel any extra pressure, if anything, it’s extra motivation, which is positive and pushes you to do your very best. Yesterday, at an event in Milan, along with Carlos, I enjoyed our first encounter with the crowd. And this morning, it wasn’t that easy to get out of the hotel, as there were so many people waiting for me and I didn’t want to disappoint them. We know that this track should be particularly suited to Max’s and Sergio’s car. Having said that, we’ve often seen surprises at Monza, so we’re not ruling out getting the best possible result".
The other Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, despite having to start from behind, promises the best to give an excellent result to his home crowd:
"I will start from the back. For sure, it’s not ideal, because I want to be fighting at the front because of all the fans in the grandstands. But even if I start from a long way back, I will do my maximum to have a repeat of the race in France, with a lot of overtaking, in order to score as many points as possible for the team. We saw in qualifying in recent races here that slipstreaming can be quite strong and I’m ready to make myself available for that, just like in France. I hope I can be useful and maybe great team work can give the tifosi a pole to cheer about. Charles did it in Belgium for me and I would do it for him without hesitation".
It is a warm Friday in Monza with an air temperature of 26 °C while the track is up to 38 °C. The drivers and the teams gather in the pit lane to observe a period of silence, in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II before the start of free practice. During the FP1, which begins at 2.00 p.m. local time, some changes are made in the drivers’ line up: Nyck de Vries is driving for Aston Martin in place of Sebastian Vettel and Antonio Giovinazzi is driving down at Haas instead of Mick Schumacher. The first free practice sees Charles Leclerc lead a Ferrari one-two in their home Gran Prix with a time of 1'22"410, topping the timesheets ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz (+0.007) and the two Mercedes drivers, with George Russel a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen is only fifth, setting a time of 1'22"840, followed by the Alpine drivers, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo closing the top ten. Ferrari and Mercedes have a good opening session, and so do Alpine. As for the rest, plenty of drivers will be fully focused on longer run pace knowing that their weekend is much more about what they can do on Sunday than fast laps on Saturday. The FP2 starts at 5:00 p.m. local time in a warmer weather than ever Monza: the air temperature is just slightly hotter than earlier at 27 °C, with the track up at 38 °C and humidity running at 41%. Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher are back in their respective cockpits, having missed out of FP1.
At the end of the session Sainz Jr. is the fastest in 1'21"664, followed by the Championship leader Max Verstappen and the other Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc half a tenth back. Sergio Perez finishes sixth in more than half a second behind of teammate Verstappen, followed by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso and Alexander Albon close the top ten. During FP2 Schumacher's Haas stops on the grass near the entry to Turn 6 causing a red flag, meaning the session is suspended. It seems to be a mechanical problem, but for the German driver this has been less than ideal given he sat out of FP1. At the end of Friday's second free practice session, Yuki Tsunoda is summoned by the stewards for failing to slow down under yellow flags after Turn 5. The Japanese AlphaTauri driver is penalised by three positions on the grid and two points on the super-licence. The penalty has no practical effect as he was already forced to start from the back of the grid. During the first two free practice sessions on Friday, Mick Schumacher uses a transmission assembly outside of the allocation provided under the technical regulations. The German Haas driver is not penalised on the starting grid as this operation falls within the maximum number allowed by the technical regulations. On the night between Friday and Saturday, Aston Martin used the first of the two covers allowed during the season to carry out operations on their cars.
The British team receives no penalties. Before the start of the third free practice session on Saturday, the reserve driver of the 2020-2021 Formula E and 2019 Formula 2 Champion Mercedes, Dutchman Nyck de Vries, replaces Thai driver Alexander Albon at Williams, who was diagnosed with appendicitis. Nyck de Vries is using 45 as his race number, last used by German driver André Lotterer in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. For the Dutchman it is his debut in a Formula One Grand Prix after he was lined up in the first Friday free practice session in the Spanish Grand Prix, again in place of Albon for the same team, in the same session in place of British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in the French Grand Prix, and again in the same session in this Grand Prix in place of German Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel. After appendicitis surgery, Williams reports that Albon suffered unexpected post-operative anaesthetic complications that led to respiratory failure. The driver, however, is declared out of danger, in time to be fit for the next Singapore Grand Prix scheduled for 2 October 2022, three weeks away. Speaking instead of the first day of practice, Scuderia Ferrari seem to be the team to beat here, with the Red Bull Racing carrying grid drops. All of which should please the Tifosi who are expected to turn out in huge numbers across the weekend. Carlos Sainz exceeds his allocation of gearbox components, plus ES, turbo, control electronics (CE), MGU-H and MGU-K, and will therefore start from the back. But he seem confident in the potential of the car:
"Overall it has been a positive day. We still need to check all the data, but I felt quite comfortable in the car and the package this weekend seems to be working well. There is still work to do to try and improve the pace on the long runs, so we’ll look into every detail tonight and try to improve for tomorrow but especially for the race".
His teammate Charles Leclerc, who will have a great opportunity on Sunday, states:
"The feeling in the car was good. We still haven’t found the sweet spot in terms of balance, but we tried many different things throughout the day and know which direction we want to go in. Our race pace looked stronger than our qualifying pace, so if we put it all together there is quite good potential to have a solid weekend".
Red Bull’s drivers face penalties for exceeding their respective allocations of internal combustion engines (ICE): a five-place grid drop for the dutchman and 10 places for his Mexican teammate. Max Verstappen doesn’t seem worried about it:
"I think the car was pretty good today, we’ve been trying a few different things from FP1 to FP2. Some things worked and some didn’t, if you look at the long runs we look good and of course that’s most important for the race. We did more long run practice knowing that we have the five place grid penalty on Sunday, everything seemed to work out quite well. There are still a few things that we can do better, but I think we should stand a good chance. The Ferraris look good, I’m not worried about them but we still have a few things to finalize".
For his part, Sergio Perez is happy that he was able to complete the work plan he set with the Anglo-Austrian team:
"We have been playing around with the set-up, exploring different directions, so I think all in all we have pretty good information going forward. We have used different downforce levels as well, so we have plenty of data for us to review tonight which is quite promising. We managed to complete a very solid programme today and we are fairly comparable to Max’s car, there are just a couple of differences. I think the main thing will be the race pace and how the tyres last around this track will also be key for the race. I am looking forward to tomorrow but mainly Sunday, overtaking will be hard but I think the degradation looks promising".
George Russell talks about the gap from Red Bull and Ferrari and says that the team has work to do before qualifying:
"Bit of a strange day, FP1 was looking pretty strong but then Ferrari and Red Bull seemed to take a step forward in FP2 and we went a little backwards so we have work to do tonight to understand that. Generally speaking, we're lacking a little electrical deployment here, we're similar to Red Bull but Ferrari seem to have the upper hand on deployment which might be tricky in a race scenario. If you nail the tow around here in qualifying, it will definitely make a difference but it's high-risk-high-reward so not something we're putting a lot of emphasis on. Qualifying sessions are where you learn the most about the car and the tyres, and they've been the sessions we've struggled most with this year, so I think we'll both be going out tomorrow like any other quali day and trying to nail the basics".
Lewis Hamilton, who reported an unstable feeling in his W13 during FP2 says:
"We made some setup changes in between FP1 and FP2 and went a lot slower, or the other guys went a lot quicker - we just didn't feel as fast in the later session. I know George had some deployment issues here but my car didn't seem to be affected. It's George's turn to choose who goes first or second tomorrow so I assume I'll go first and naturally I'll provide him with a bit of a tow".
The sun is shining high in the Italian sky on Saturday afternoon, with an outside temperature of about 26 degrees and track temperature of 39.8 degrees, while the third and final free practice session of the weekend is on its way to start. The first news of the day is that Nyck de Vries, former Formula 2 and Formula E champion, will replace Alex Albon for the remaining sessions of the Italian Gran Prix, as the Thai driver had an appendicitis attack and was rushed to hospital. At 1:00 p.m. the traffic light is green and the first to get off on the track is Sergio Perez with medium tyres, who closes the first lap in 1'23"448, but improves quickly by setting a 1'22"611. Meanwhile, Bottas, Tsunoda, Stroll, Vettel and Gasly are also on track, then joined by the McLaren duo all with medium compounds except for Bottas, who closes the first lap 1'24"244. Verstappen gets on track but finds a lot of traffic marking a very slow time with 1'30"896, but improves it quickly by scoring 1'21"872. Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher has an issue with his throttle and is still in the box. The Ferrari drivers finally get on track accompanied by the cheers of the home audience and close their first laps behind the two Red Bulls, Leclerc 3rd and Sainz 4th. The Spanish driver is called back to the pits for a fuel system problem while Leclerc takes second place with 1'21"944. Nyck de Vries finally gets on track too, all eyes this weekend are on him, while an investigation arrives for Sainz and Bottas. The drivers complain a lot about the traffic, which we know is a constant issue in Monza.
After the first thirty minutes the classification sees Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Sainz Jr., followed by Alonso and the Mercedes drivers. Mick is still in the pits, the mechanics trying to solve the problem as soon as possible to allow him to do at least a few laps. Another news arrive and it regards Kevin Magnussesn, who will join the drivers with grid penalties since he’s taken on a new ICE. Most drivers put the soft tyres, including Carlos Sainz returning to the track scoring a 1'21"897. Schumacher manages to get off the track a few minutes from the end. Verstappen is the fastest of the session, with a margin of 0.347s. Leclerc is second, compromised by a mistake at the Roggia variant. The final ranking is: Max Verstappen (1'21"252), Charles Leclerc (1'21"599), Sergio Perez (1'21"848), Carlos Sainz Jr. (1'21"897), Fernando Alonso (1'22"306), Lando Norris (1'22"319), George Russell (1'22"357), Yuki Tsunoda (1'22"430), Esteban Ocon (1'22"506), Lewis Hamilton (1'22"567), Ghoy Zhou (1'22"657), Pierre Gasly (1'22"755), Nicholas Latifi (1'22"776), Nyck de Vries (1'22"869), Daniel Ricciardo (1'22"871), Valterri Bottas (1'22"950), Sebastian Vettel (1'23"104), Kevin Magnussen (1'23"203), Mick Schumacher (1'23"392), Lance Stroll (1'23"739). During the press conference before qualifying, it is time to talk about Alpine. In fact, these are bad times for the French team, that in the space of a few weeks, lost both Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri, the F2 champion whom they had invested in and hoped could be their future. Now theyare without a driver to partner Esteban Ocon next year, but Laurent Rossi explains that Alpine are not panicking. They wanted to continue with Alonso until the end of this season, when his contract expired. They offered him a term of two years, the second season being an option, with the idea that once that ended, he would continue with Alpine in other motorsport categories. They would then give Piastri a race seat from 2025, after loaning him to Williams for a couple of seasons to gather some experience. He explains that the team couldn’t offer Alonso a longer contract because they would risk losing Piastri, but the Spaniard thought that it wasn’t enough and joined Aston Martin next season on a multi-year deal:
"We wanted him to continue with us as an endurance and/or Dakar driver. We spoke about it at length last year. Why did we only offer him two years? We only had two years of option with Oscar. Fernando had a desire to drive longer in F1, which we couldn’t match or we would have lost Oscar. It didn’t make sense for us. More than likely, we couldn’t match other conditions that were offered, too. So, with Fernando, we would have loved to continue. He’s an amazing champion, he will remain a legend of our brand - but it didn’t work and that’s life. We will stay on good terms. He’s an exceptional champion, he’s a gentleman, he’s continuing to do fantastic work for us despite having signed [for Aston Martin for next year]. We’re sad to part ways but we remain family. That’s life. It’s a blow to lose a champion, but it happens. Silly seasons, they move like that. Oscar was not expected. Frankly, it’s disappointing".
Soon after Alonso’s news, Alpine announced Piastri as their driver for 2023. However, ther Australian driver responded on Twitter that he would not be driving for Alpine next year. Rossi explains that on November 2021, Alpine made a commitment, outlined in a Head of Terms document, to train Piastri extensively and then send him to drive with another team while they continued with Alonso for at least one - possibly two seasons - before bringing him back:
"We did deliver on our commitment to Oscar very quickly, as we exercised our option on November 15, agreeing on Head of Terms which said he would be reserve. He would receive an extensive training programme, among other things 5.000 km of driving through the year, and we’re going to find him a driving seat for 2023 and 2024. We did just that. We announced him as a reserve the day after. We very quickly devised a training programme and a 5.000 km testing programme, which started in February alongside Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon - that’s a serious training programme. You’re driving with two F1 drivers, you will learn from them. He drove 3.700 km by August. We would have easily obtained the 5.000 km. We gave him full access to the team, debriefs, technical meetings and he was with me most Sundays listening to the race. Not only was he a reserve, but he would have been the most trained rookie ever. He knew how the team operated, how an F1 driver is supposed to operate in the team. We feel like we delivered. We went above and beyond. We hired a person just to find him a seat [with another team], because we wanted to do that properly. By the end of April, we found him a seat at Williams".
But when it became clear to Piastri that Alonso would be in the Alpine for 2023 and maybe 2024, he started to assess his options elsewhere on the grid. Alpine then became aware that McLaren had made him an offer:
"When the Williams opportunity was about to turn into a concrete deal, so much so that the seat fitting was scheduled, they [Piastri’s management team] said we have a possible opportunity at McLaren. It was a bit disappointing. We felt it was a bit strange, because we expected a bit more loyalty considering how much we put in there. He didn’t say he was going to go, he said he had an opportunity. Then we saw in July, the sixth I think, that [Daniel] Ricciardo was confirming for the year after [this is two days after, it later emerged, Piastri had signed with McLaren]. So we thought there is interest, but there might not even be a seat. There was perhaps an opportunity [at McLaren, but] the door is closing, so Oscar is still in play for us. It explains why we decided to promote him - he was reserve and we elevated in the same framework to race driver. Otmar [Szafnauer, Alpine Team Principal] saw him, told him, and we announced it. We never knew for a fact he had signed. He never told us. We still believed the Williams seat was a great one, a great opportunity to learn without a bit less pressure - a very good team to learn in, very seasoned, capable of growing talents like George [Russell, who spent three years at the team as something of an apprenticeship before being recalled to Mercedes]. But we could understand he was attracted by the prospect of a better challenge sporting-wise. We felt when we had the chance to offer him a better seat, I would contend, with us because we are a works team, we felt like we would offer it to him and he would accept it as there was no better option - Ricciardo was staying. We acted very logically, in line with our commitment to him. From our perspective, it’s a very linear, simple story. We have been so committed. I don’t think we could have given more to any driver, to be honest".
Last weekend, the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) determined that the only valid contract Piastri had was with McLaren, not with Alpine, and it comes down to the fact Piastri never signed legal paperwork locking him into Alpine.
"He never signed any contracts we put to him. We put contracts forward many times. They were never signed. We could not retain him because he didn’t sign a contract with us. We were expecting more loyalty".
Rossi admits the mistakes made by his team. However, he believes they acted in good faith throughout:
"We made some mistakes, we made some legal technical mistakes. We left the door ajar by not forcing him in with a contract that is so tight he couldn’t move. Why did we do that? It’s a bit of an oversight because we never thought that when you give so much to someone, when you give them training, a reserve role, a seat in a partner team, he will not take it after being supported for so many years and winning the championship through your support. Like George [Russell] before him, who went to Williams before returning to Mercedes, like Charles [Leclerc] who went to Sauber before returning to Ferrari, like Max [Verstappen] and like Sebastian [Vettel, who both raced for Toro Rosso before driving for Red Bull] - they all did a junior team before moving up. I’m a bit surprised that Oscar thought that first, he was better than Williams. I can understand from a sporting perspective McLaren might be more interesting based on pure on-track results than Williams, but we didn’t expect that after so much support, so much loyalty, they would use that back door to shop around and get what felt like a better contract for them. Those are not the values we exhibited. This is how I see the story. Of course, we made mistakes, otherwise we wouldn’t be here talking about the topic, but we feel we stayed very true to our commitment, to our values and to our words to Oscar. But I would say things happen for a reason. We’re not sharing the same conceptions of things, and perhaps not sharing the same values, so it’s perhaps better this way, to be parting ways".
The Alpine Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer, joins the squad during this saga, allowing Rossi to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the F1 team so he can focus on running the wider Alpine business, which continues to show growth in road car sales - the finance of which can then be ploughed back into the F1 team. Despite the frustration of losing two highly-rated drivers, Rossi has thrown his full support behind Szafnauer, who he feels has made strong changes since joining the outfit from Aston Martin in February:
"The roles are very clear. Otmar is the F1 boss. I have full confidence in him. I tag-team with him a lot. In the transition from me to him upon arrival, it’s been remarkable - he’s made a difference since he arrived. He’s continuing to make a difference. He’s been hired to help me take a bit of a distance, as I have 16 direct reports. I need to build cars, expand the Alpine network, build a brand. I spent a disproportionate amount of time last year on F1. I will spend less and less time as now I have a very capable leader at helm in Otmar. The roles are very set. I will lead the Alpine brand, which is more than an F1 team. Luca [De Meo] leads the Renault Group and its transformation. It won’t change, it works well. We made mistakes. We will clearly learn our lessons".
Alpine brought Piastri through their academy in the hope that he would race for the Formula 1 team. Of all the junior academies, Alpine has one of the most - if not the most - extensive programme, giving their drivers plenty of track time. In the last decade, aside from Lance Stroll, few can call on more than 3.000 km of testing in F1 machinery. Piastri, of course, had to do what is best for him - and he felt that McLaren offered him that chance. He remains grateful to Alpine for everything they have done. However, Alpine feel hurt that he left and now face the prospect of watching a driver they trained up excel at a rival. It is for that reason they are questioning the future of their academy. It comes after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that, while he believes in the integrity of the drivers they have in their junior stable, the team will be employing even more lawyers for even stricter contracts. It’s setting a dangerous precedent, says Laurent Rossi. Then he adds:
"It’s creating a possible framework where driver academies are at risk. Manufacturers invest a lot in budding talents. The first remedy, which is what Toto mentioned, is to look at contracts differently - we will be much tougher. We learn form that, to take less of a naive perspective on shaking hands and being partners on more legally binding terms, which will be a bit less friendly. Then there is the even bigger consideration - is it worth it, us investing so much in detecting and supporting talent? If someone who doesn’t do that kind of stuff, saves that money and then poaches them when they are fully trained - why don’t we do the same? It’s a tough question - as it’s about what you believe in. We believe in bringing youth through; it’s anchored in the Renault Group. It’s our values, giving a chance to young drivers. Values are important. You want to stand for something. We will honour our commitment to all drivers in our academy, but we’re wondering whether or not to continue. We are torn apart. We believe in the value of the system but if we’re not protected, is it worth it? If we are not sure we can, and it becomes too complicated or too big a burden on the contract side - as contracts can only take you so far - you don’t want to make them so appealing because it binds you so much. We really wonder. It’s a big disappointment. Perhaps a big reality check".
Attention is now on securing a team mate for Esteban Ocon for 2023, with Alpine in no rush to decide. As the fourth-best team on the grid, they are an attractive prospect. Their car development this year, with updates brought to every race and delivering performance each time, has been impressive. Rossi set a 100-race target (roughly four seasons) of being competitive and regularly contending for podiums by making consistent progress - and to be fair them, they’re doing just that in the first season of four:
"There will be bumps on the road. I’m not a fool - I know we are going to have bad times. The Idea is to continue the progression. We’re the fourth force of the grid, and our seat is in high demand. That’s good. We will take our time. We don’t want to rush into the decision. It’s a process Otmar is leading, as he knows what is best for the team. We take input from our engineers. The driver is important, but the car is the most important by far".
A flurry of names have been linked with the seat, including AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and F2 racer Jack Doohan, who is part of the Alpine Academy. Alpine will spend the next few weeks mulling whether to take experience, to find a driver for one-year only, to leave them options in 2024 when more drivers will be available - or to go for youth and invest in the future:
"We need someone who helps develop the team, who helps develop the car. We need a seasoned enough, effective enough driver who will score points right away and also take the team up with him. These are criteria we are looking at. There are plenty of good ones. [Red Bull Motorsport Adviser] Helmut [Marko] mentioned Pierre - why wouldn’t you? He’s a very good driver, he would be a good candidate for us. You mentioned Jack, he’s a consideration. Despite what we said about the Academy, we believe in him, he’s shown a lot potential, especially lately - talk about being present at the right moment. He’s a great person, he is fast, his father is also a champion I admire and a person I admire. They are great guys. He’s in our plans. One way or another we will try and put him in an F1 car at some point. But then again, once bitten, twice shy".
On the timing of when a decision will be made, Rossi says:
"We will see what the landscape is by the end of September. We will have more clarity on all options. By then, I assume we will make a choice".
While Alpine are disappointed not to continue with Piastri, they see the bigger picture: the Enstone team have a car that is fast - and getting faster. They have a team with a clear development direction and are capable of fighting at the front. If they continue on that path and pick the right driver for the job alongside Ocon, success will follow. It is time for qualifying, the weather is still sunny and the track conditions are optimal: everything is ready for the first qualifying session that will decide Sunday's starting grid. However, almost half the field will be dropping down the grid because of a bevy of engine, gearbox and reprimand-related penalties, so the results will only be provisional waiting for penalties to be counted. In a circuit like that of Monza, not for nothing called the Temple of Speed, wake work can be crucial to grabbing up on seconds, which is why teamwork will be very important. At the green light the first to get on track are Stroll, Tsunoda and Vettel. The Canadian closes his first lap in 1'24"231, but he is soon beaten by 1.4 s by the Alpha Tauri driver. Vettel instead reports an issue in his cockpit and returns to the box. Ferraris take the track for their first run, immediately followed by both Mercedes and Red Bulls, all drivers with soft tyres. Gasly, the two Alpines and Alfa Romeos remain in the pits. Leclerc closes his first run in 1'21"280. followed by teammate Sainz, placing P1 and P2. But Verstappen immediately eclipses the Monegasque’s time with 1'20"922, taking the first position. Sergio Perez' performance improves, so that the Mexican manages to put his Red Bull in fourth position with a second behind his teammate. Five minutes before the conclusion of Q1, the first four positions remain unchanged, as the Red Bulls and Ferraris stay in their boxes. Right after them is Russell and Alfa Romeo driver Zhou. The Alpha Tauri drivers, Gasly and Tsunoda, are next in seventh and eighth respectively, then Hamilton sits in ninth and Alonso in tenth for Alpine. Norris manages to take the eleventh position and Ricciardo the 12th, ahead of Ocon. Brilliant drive by De Vries who accomplishes to put his car in P14, ahead of teammate Latifi. In the elimination zone are the two Aston Martin, the Haas and Bottas. Magnussen places his car 19th after a series of laps cancelled due to track limits. Both Latifi and Schumacher go off the track trying to push to the maximum and earn a place in Q2, closing sixteenth and twentieth respectively. While both Aston Martin drivers can't improve their time lap, Vettel closing P17 and Stroll P18. However, grid penalties will see all five Q1 eliminations move up the grid, with Sainz, Tsunoda and Hamilton to start at the back and Magnussen and Schumacher starting ahead of them with their 15-place grid penalties.
New soft tires for everyone in Q2, except for the Ferraris and the Red Bulls that put back those used in Q1. Verstappen heads out first setting a time of 1'21"265, but Sainz Jr. immediately oversteps him with 1'20"878. Leclerc has a lock up into Turn 1 on his first flying lap and has to abort it. He soon sets off for a new attempt on the next lap and sets the second best time of the session. Follows him Verstappen P3 0.387s off the pace and Perez P4 another 0.093s back. For the rest of the session the Ferraris and the Red Bulls do not leave for a second run. Also Tsunoda stays in the pits, as on Sunday he will still start from the the back because of a penalty and Gasly doesn't seem to need his help for a wake. At risk elimination remain Bottas, De Vries, Zhou and Ricciardo. De Vries leads the train of cars out but loses his Williams in braking towards the Variante Roggia by cutting the chicane, ruining his lap and exiting Q2 in 13th. The Alfa Romeos despite improving their lap time can't get higher, so Bottas slots in 12th, while Zhou ends the session 14th. Mercedes ends with Hamilton fifth and Russell sixth, ahead of Norris and then Ricciardo for McLaren. Alonso makes it to Q3 in 9th but his team mate Ocon is eliminated in P11. Gasly made it through to Q3 with the tenth place. For Nyck De Vries today has been a great opportunity to demonstrate his talent and skills. Despite losing the car, it has been in fact a very positive session:
"First, I just want to say I feel bad for Alex and hope that his health and recovery will be quick. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity for myself, however it’s challenging to just jump in like that. Overall, I’m happy with how it went but definitely feel there was more in it. Unfortunately, I picked up a lot of rear locking in my lap, but generally it was a positive session. With the grid penalties, it’s positive to be starting further up the grid - I have some homework to do tonight but it’s great to get the call up".
New tyres for everyone except Hamilton, Norris, Ricciardo and Gasly for the last qualifying session, which will decide the top 10 starter of the Monza Grand Prix. Norris leads the field, followed by Hamilton towing Russell, while Ferrari decides to send Leclerc in front of Sainz for the first run. The Spaniard sets 1'20"584 and leaves Leclerc 0.386s off in 2nd. Verstappen is another 0.275s behind and Perez a further half a second back in 4th. Russel’s tyres are sliding a lot but he still manages to end fifth, followed by Norris while Alonso aborts his lap closing 10th. Everyone standing, applause and screams from the bleachers fill the track: Leclerc takes the pole with 1'20"161. Max Verstappen finishes in second place, a tenth and a half behind Leclerc, with Sainz settling in for third place. The Dutch will fall down the grid because of his five-place penalty, while third-place qualifier Sainz will drop to P18. Perez, Hamilton, Russell, Norris, Ricciardo, Gasly, Alonso complete the top ten. Charles Leclerc takes the 17th pole position of his career, for the first time since the French Grand Prix, and equals the number of pole starts achieved by Briton Jackie Stewart and Dutchman Verstappen. Ferrari's Monegasque driver, making his eighth pole start of the season and second in the Italian Grand Prix after that in the 2019 edition, surpasses the total number of pole positions achieved in the same season when he won the FIA Pole Trophy. He is the first Ferrari driver to win eight pole starts this season since the same number achieved by Michael Schumacher in the 2004 season. Regarding the qualifying, the Monegasque comments that he has felt very confident and the pace was strong, hoping that this will allow him to take the win:
"I’m very happy. Monza is always a special one and to secure pole position here in front of our tifosi, is an incredible feeling. Even more so after we struggled in Spa, another high-speed track with similar demands. We worked hard to make improvements and it looks like we have become more competitive again. I felt confident in the car from the first practice session on and our race pace was strong, so hopefully we can convert this pole into a victory tomorrow. I will give it everything".
Carlos Sainz Jr. congratulates the team on his teammate's pole, feeling happy with his performance even though his position is not really optimal for tomorrow, but saying that he will do everything he can to give the fans a race to remember:
"It was a good qualifying session from the beginning, with strong laps in Q1 and Q2. Then on the final attempts we also did very good laps, although on the last run, my track position was not the best behind Pierre, as he was doing very fast out laps and we couldn’t get any tow. Still, it’s great for Ferrari to start on pole here at Monza so congrats to Charles and the entire team. We can be happy with the performance we have shown today and I think it’s a good testimony of the hard work that has been carried out in Maranello. I hope we can stage a good recovery tomorrow and for sure I’m going to push flat out to make up as many positions as possible. The support from the tifosi in the grandstands has been absolutely incredible all weekend and we’ll do our best to gift them with an exciting race".
Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s Racing Director, emphasizes again how important and source of pride is to take the pole in Monza. Both drivers went very well, the team worked a lot in Maranello to bring the performance back a higher level:
"Taking pole position in Monza, in front of a full crowd for the first time in two years, is a really special feeling. We dedicate this achievement to all our tifosi who never waver in their support for us. Charles did a very good job, because once again he put together the perfect lap. Carlos also went very well, putting in similar times to his team-mate and playing the slipstream game. We had already done the same in France and Belgium and getting it right requires great understanding between the drivers. Since the last few races, we have worked hard in Maranello to get back to the highest performance level and, thanks to everyone’s efforts, today’s result is a first step in the right direction. Of course, it’s only Saturday and the points are given out tomorrow. We know it won’t be easy to keep the lead and bring home the win, because we have seen that Max (Verstappen) is capable of winning starting from the back and so far, Mercedes has always been quicker in the race than in qualifying. Now, we are concentrating on preparing for the race, with the aim of producing the same pace as we have shown in qualifying".
Max Verstappen is happy with his session, commenting how strong the Ferraris seemed all weekend. Starting seventh he will try to make his way through the grid with only the victory as goal:
"I think qualifying went well. The Ferraris have looked strong all weekend, so we knew it would be close today. We set up the car for the race, opting for a little bit more downforce; over one qualifying lap it wasn’t the best, but I think tomorrow it will be strong. Regardless, we were still quite close so that’s a positive. It will be an interesting battle tomorrow; I’ll try and stay out of trouble and just make my way forward. We won’t be taking any crazy risks though, I know that we don’t need to win every race from now until the end of the season but if I clear all the cars in front of me, then I will of course go for the win".
Sergio Perez is also confident for tomorrow. Regardless the fact that the pace was not excellent and there is still some work to be done about it in order to be ready for race, he believes it should not be a problem closing the gap with Ferrari:
"It is still a good result today and we can fight for it tomorrow. With the race pace we have, we can close up the gap, so I am looking forward to it. It wasn’t a great lap for me, but it didn’t feel bad either, now we need to maximise for tomorrow and focus. We knew the Ferraris were going to be very fast around here so their result wasn’t much of a surprise. I think in the race they will also be strong. We are lacking a bit of pace at the moment so there are a few things to review from today before the race - we have to make the most of what I have. The DRS straights can be very painful around here, you can sit for a couple of laps and that can impact your race a lot. It will be difficult to pass, you must have a good strategy and use your pace properly, that will be very important to progress".
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s Team Principal and CEO, points out that according to expectations the Ferraris have been very strong. He also emphasizes how it was strategic to take penalty here despite the difficult of overtake, but considering next rounds it has been certainly the right decision. The grid is very mixed so it will be interesting to see who will be able to make the best strategy choices:
"We knew in qualifying Ferrari would be particularly strong and that proved to be the case. We had to compromise qualifying slightly to give the drivers a better race car tomorrow, so we’ll see if that trade pays off. I think it’s still tricky to overtake here, Spa for sure is the easiest to overtake, but theoretically we should be able to get into an overtaking position although it’s certainly not going to be straight forward. We’ve strategically taken the penalties at the best race we can considering where we are in the season as we didn’t want to do it at Singapore or Japan given the difficulty in overtaking. We have a strong race car though, so hopefully we can make some good progress tomorrow. A mixed up grid could mean a very exciting race tomorrow, we’ve taken two sets of new softs - so have Ferrari and it will be fascinating to see how that plays out".
For the seven-times World Champion Lewis Hamilton, today’s performance was not the best. Tomorrow's race seems tough given the not excellent pace and the car train that will be in front of him starting nineteenth:
"It was an okay session from my side but not my best. Today, we are off the pace of the frontrunners so there wasn't much more I could do - it's at these low downforce levels that we seem to be less competitive, and to lose pace relative to the teams around us. It's going to be tough for us tomorrow starting from the back because the DRS effect is not big, and I expect a lot of cars will be running in DRS trains. So, it could be a frustrating day for us - but I will try to keep positive and give it everything I've got".
On the other hand, George Russell will start second behind Leclerc. Aware that it will be difficult to keep up with the Ferrari’s pace and Verstappen coming behind, he hopes for some good battles:
"Q1 started off well, just a few tenths behind Ferrari, and I hoped that was where we were going to be - then the session just ran away from us to be honest, and I ended up 1.4 seconds away. We took a risk on the final run to save a set of new Soft tyres for tomorrow, and I'm pleased that neither Lando nor Fernando jumped us, as that was ultimately the fight for P2 on the grid tomorrow. Looking to the race, we need to focus on ourselves - it will be hard to keep Max behind, Charles is starting in front, then we have Sergio, Carlos and Lewis coming from the back. We need to run our own race, focus on staying in the podium positions and put up a good fight".
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal, admits that the session was worse than expected in terms of maximizing the car performance, but hopes that tomorrow with Russell starting in the front row they can have some good opportunities, also confident that Lewis can make a good climb through the grid:
"Overall, that session was probably a little worse than we had hoped for - not in terms of our final positions, which were probably our maximum today, but with respect to the gap to the front of the grid. We started the weekend well and haven't been able to continue that momentum through the weekend - and on the flip side, Ferrari did an awesome job here in qualifying. I guess the positive point is that George will start from P2 - even though he was complaining of poor grip from the tyres on his timed laps. Lewis obviously goes to the back row with his engine penalty, so we will need a strong recovery tomorrow if we hope to get to the points. We knew coming into this weekend that this wouldn't be a great track for us, but I hope that we can continue our trend of better race pace than single lap and maximise our opportunities in the race".
On Sunday, Semptember 11, 2022, it is time for the Italian Grand Prix, held on the Temple of Speed, 100 years after Monza was constructed. It begins with a solemn moment of silence for the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, with the drivers and the team members lined up in the pit lane to pay their respects. After this, everyone go to their place on the grid: a lot of drivers have penalties, so the order established in qualifying will not be followed. Charles Leclerc starts on pole in Ferrari’s home race, ahead of George Russell. The two McLarens are on the second row and Max Verstappen seventh. For his debut Nyck de Vries is P8 on the grid, while Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon start from 13th and 14th, and Carlos Sainz is P18, Lewis Hamilton P19, and Yuki Tsunoda the last. Five drivers - Leclerc, Russell, Verstappen, de Vries, and Ocon - start on brand-new soft tyres, while the rest of the field is on mediums. Lights out, and Russell does a very good launch, trying to move around the outside of Leclerc into Turn 1, but avoiding a disaster rejoining in second. Verstappen makes immediately up three places, while Lando Norris falls to seventh before retaking a place off Fernando Alonso. Hamilton goes through the escape road at Turn 1 to avoid a potential collision; Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas make slight contact. On lap 2, Verstappen is already into the podium places, passing Daniel Ricciardo, who goes late on the brakes into the opening chicane. Behind, the Aston Martins battle for P10 and go wheel to wheel, while Sainz and Perez engage an interesting fight for P15. The Ferrari driver passes Perez and the Haas of Magnussen for P13 by lap 4, when Verstappen is closely following Russell for P2. The Red Bull driver overtakes him at the start of lap 5 going into the first chicane, while Leclerc is in the lead with 2.1 seconds of detachment. Sainz is now into the top 10, having also passed Stroll at the start of lap 6, while Perez is now P13 in front of Ocon. In the midfield, there is a DRS train which goes from Ricciardo in P4 to Sainz in P10. Verstappen is following Leclerc for the lead, and Perez enters the pits to swap his mediums for hards on lap 8; brake smoke is out of his right-front tyre, and then there is a brief spit of flames. The Mexican is told to move his brake bias rearwards to cool his discs, while Sainz passes Zhou Guanyu and de Vries for P8, then Alonso for P7 on lap 10.
The Spanish driver also passes Lando Norris with ease and on lap 12 he pries P5 off Pierre Gasly. Suddenly, Sebastian Vettel stops his Aston Martin on the side on the run to Ascari with a loss of power: he retires at the circuit on which he clinched his very-first Grand Prix victory back in 2008. A Virtual Safety Car is deployed to recover the stationary car. Leclerc agrees with his pit wall that a stop for mediums during the VSC is the right choice, but when he is emerging from the pit lane, the the VSC is rescinded. He emerges third, ahead of Ricciardo, while Verstappen is now leading and is told by the team that it will be hard for Leclerc to continue with mediums until the end of the race. Sainz do not want to pit during the VSC, and takes P4 off Ricciardo, who is now closely followed by Gasly, who has then to skip through Turn 1 and give the McLaren the place back. Ricciardo is all over the place, says the AlphaTauri driver. The Ferrari pit wall tell Leclerc not to short-shift on the exit of corners, but he says that he cannot do such a thing and implores his team to make sure the engine doesn’t fail on him. Verstappen extends his advantage over Russell to seven seconds, while Alonso and Norris battle for P7: the Briton easily retakes the place from the Spaniard, while de Vries stalks both in order to take points on his debut, but he is given a black-and-white flag for exceeding track limits. Gasly opens the pit window on lap 19, pitting for hards, and is followed by Zhou and Stroll. Ricciardo, de Vries, Ocon, and Tsunoda stop a lap later, while Sainz, who is losing time on his starting set of mediums, now asks the pit wall to let him change tyres. Russell pit for hards on lap 24, but his stop is slow and he emerges in P4, behind Sainz but ahead of Norris. Hamilton gains on Alonso for P6, with Perez a few seconds back. Verstappen’s lead is now 13 seconds, so chooses to pit on lap 26 to mount the mediums and emerges in second. Hamilton finally passes Alonso for P6, while Russell struggles with the pace of his hard tyres, but still gains eight-tenths per lap on Sainz. Leclerc is losing time to Verstappen with the lap ticker reaching 30 of 53. The lead over Russell is of 1.8s, while Sainz finally pits for softs on lap 31 and emerges in P8 behind Perez. One lap later, Alonso goes into the pits with a power unit issue and is forced to retire. The lead then changes again as Leclerc pits for softs to emerge in P2, 20 seconds behind Verstappen and 2.5s ahead of Russell, while Sainz has just passed Perez for P6 into Turn 4.
Hamilton pits from P7 to emerge on softs in P12, with a DRS train which is passing. The Briton quickly passes Zhou for P11 and de Vries for P10. Norris stops on lap 36 and emerges behind Ricciardo, but Hamilton goes past Norris and Gasly to take P7. Hamilton also passes Ricciardo for P6 on lap 38 and Norris does the same, taking P7 and now going in chase of the Mercedes. On lap 41 Lance Stroll goes into the pits annd retire, so double retirement for Aston Martin. With 10 laps remaining, Perez pits to swap his hard compounds for softs; he loses the track position to Hamilton and Norris, as he emerges seventh. Verstappen’s lead seems assured: he is 17 seconds ahead of Leclerc with 10 laps left, while Sainz is 10 seconds behind Russell in the chase for the final podium spot. De Vries attempts to hold off Zhou in the place for the final point and manages to break out of DRS range of the Alfa Romeo, and get within DRS range of the AlphaTauri of Gasly ahead. On lap 47 the podium seemed assured, but Daniel Ricciardo comes to a halt ahead of the second Lesmo, triggering the Safety Car and allowing the top four to stop for soft tyres. Sainz takes new softs while Verstappen, Leclerc and Russell have to take scrubbed softs. The field only lines up behind the Safety Car on lap 51 of 53, with a number of lapped cars in the middle. It is soon clear that the race will end under caution, and Verstappen wins his first-ever Italian Grand Prix. Leclerc is angry for the missed restart, and the fans are not particularly happy either. The Monegasque ends in P2, with Russell third ahead of Sainz in P4. Hamilton do not pit under the Safety Car and finishes fifth ahead of Perez. Norris ends up seventh having pitted under that late caution, with Gasly’s one-stop strategy from mediums to hards seeing him finish eighth.
De Vries is elected Driver of the Day for taking P9 on his first F1 race, despite the medium tyres were suffering towards the end of the race. Alpine ends without points, while Mick Schumacher makes an impressive late pass on Nicholas Latifi and finishes 12th ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with back-of-grid starter Yuki Tsunoda ending the race in P14. Latifi finishes ahead of Magnussen, who has a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on lap 1 and finishes 16th. With his first podium and victory at Monza, Verstappen looks at the next race in Singapore knowing he can mathematically clinch his second drivers’ title there. The field will run the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix on October 2. Max Verstappen won the 31st career Grand Prix and equaled British driver Nigel Mansell's number of wins in the category, bringing him within one victory of Spaniard Alonso. For the World Champion, who had never triumphed or reached the podium in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza National Circuit, and who had never scored five consecutive victories since his debut in the category in the 2015 season, the longest streak of his career, it is the eleventh success of the season, surpassing the number of total successes he achieved in the previous championship in which he won the drivers' title. With six races remaining, the driver standings leader can still beat the record held by the two Germans Vettel and Michael Schumacher, both of whom were able to win 13 races in a World Championship. Max Verstappen managed to recover from the seventh position, and extending his first stint thanks to low tyre degradation, found himself leading and cruised to a fifth straight victory, the first in Monza:
"The first lap I had to be careful, but we had a good start and were clean through the first chicane, and for me that was the most important thing, to stay out of trouble. Then we were very quickly back up to P3 and even into P2. Then I could set my sights on Charles and I could see we had better tyre degradation. Overall, if you look at the pace of our car this weekend, especially today, I think we were strong. The pace was good on every tyre and we were comfortably the quickest on the track. You have to try and be as perfect as you can be and on most occasions this season, we have been pretty good".
Sergio Perez had a worse weekend. A brake duct overheated, so he pitted early and mounted the hard compound tyre, which made his race more difficult also by managing those brakes which were briefly on fire:
"My race got compromised fairly early when my front right brake disk got super-hot and was basically on fire, so we had to make the decision to pitstop. The first laps on the hard I couldn’t get any temperature into the tyres, because I had to lift and coast".
So he adds:
"I was losing a lot of lap time and my first stint was compromised. That affected my whole race and I had to massively manage my brakes. It was critical at that point, because I could have lost them and had to retire the car. In the end we boxed thinking we could get Lewis back on the softs, but unfortunately the Safety Car meant we didn’t get the chance. I had better tyres than Lewis, so it would have been good to get the restart, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. For me it wasn’t a good weekend and we have plenty to do. I’m back on the simulator tomorrow and trying to get back into a good rhythm straight away".
Christian Horner is happy for the team’s performance:
"We would have liked to have seen the race play out today, we certainly didn’t want to win under a Safety Car. We believe there was enough time to get the race going, but the Safety Car picked up George Russell, which delayed proceedings. Despite that, we believe we had enough pace in hand on the one-stop strategy. Checo had to pit early because there was a flat spot, a lot of vibration, then a bit of debris got into the ducts which caused a small fire, but his recovery from there was great. Fastest lap for Checo too, so important points for him and the team. Max was yet again so impressive, even if they had the fastest car, I’m not sure if anyone could stop Max today. The whole team has been performing at such a high level all season and our performance all weekend has been brilliant. We know we compromised quali slightly yesterday, but it paid off. More challenges lie ahead with Singapore and beyond, so we look forward to that. Ultimately it was a somber race for obvious reasons, but we are happy we could bring home the win with Her Majesty’s insignia on the nose of the car and we dedicate the victory to the life and memory of HRH, Queen Elizabeth II".
Charles Leclerc lead the first stages of the race, until being called in early under a VSC which left him on a two-stop strategy. He could not try to catch his Vesrtappen due to the Dutch’s advantage and the late Safety Car:
"Monza is always incredible. Starting from pole, I did want to take the win. However, that’s not how it went today. Seeing our tifosi under the podium made it a lot better. Our pace was good and we have to keep in mind that our expectations for this track were not very high. We worked a lot throughout the practice sessions to secure pole, which was a nice surprise. We have made some positive progress and were more competitive this weekend, so I am looking forward to be back racing in Singapore".
Good race for Carlos Sainz Jr. who climbed through the field early on. He could gain the last podium place, but the late Safety Car neutralised the race:
"A good race! I felt comfortable right from the start, overtaking cars nearly every lap and climbing to P4 very early on. After pitting for the Soft tyre I was closing the gap to Russell quickly and I would have had a chance to battle with him for P3 at the end. Even when the Safety Car came out, I would have had a great opportunity at the restart with my new set of Softs, but unfortunately the race finished as it did and neither scenario happened. I’m happy with the performance and the comeback, but looking at our pace I was hoping to be on the podium in front of all the tifosi. Thanks to everyone for such great support today. We will continue to push until the end of the year".
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s Team Principal, admit the faster pace of the Red Bull, but is satisfied of their result:
"I believe our performance this weekend was better than that reflected in the final outcome. After a great qualifying in front of all our tifosi, in the race we tried to make the most of every opportunity, opting to be aggressive with both drivers. Overall, finishing second and fourth is a good result, although there is naturally a sense of regret at not bringing home the win after starting from pole. However, today, Max was simply quicker than us. Regarding our performance, there is the awareness that we have made progress compared to the last few races. However, it’s not enough, as there is still work to do when it comes to our performance on Sunday and tyre degradation”.
He is proud of meeting the Italian President of the Republic, who visited the Ferrari garage:
“There was a significant moment just before the race, when the President of the Republic visited our garage. Sergio Mattarella represents all Italians and Italy and it was nice to see the mechanics welcome him with a round of applause, as a mark of thanks for all his efforts and dedication towards our country".
George Russell did not manage to keep Verstappen behind, but then with a one-stop strategy looked to have enough pace on hards to hold Sainz at bay in the fight for the final podium spot:
"Unfortunately, this weekend we were not where we wanted to be as a team - but like I said on the radio, it doesn't matter if we are fast or slow, we keep getting these podium finishes. Over this triple header, two of the three weekends have been very difficult, and I've still come away with two podiums and a P4, so we've got to be satisfied with that. Looking at today's race, we had to do something different if we wanted to fight with Max and Charles, so we went for the Hard tyre at the stop, but they were just too quick. That's all we could do in our position. Now we have some weeks to recharge, regroup as a team and prepare for the final part of this season, so we can take every opportunity that comes our way".
Lewis Hamilton ran a long first stint to get into the points and then with soft tyres he gained the fifth position:
"This morning, the team said anywhere between sixth and fourth was possible. That always feel like a stretch when you're looking ahead at the race - but I had a lot of fun working my way to P5. The beginning was a struggle, with a heavy fuel load and the tyres overheating in traffic, but then we started to make progress as the race unfolded - and I had some fun after the stops working through the traffic. At the end, we stayed out to keep the position on track and it might have been a tough battle if the race restarted, so I'm glad it finished the way it did! Overall, we knew this was going to be a tough weekend with the engine penalty, so I'm pleased to come away with a P5 finish and to have pulled everything out of the car. This wasn't our best track but we did everything we could as a team, and I hope we have some stronger weekends ahead before the end of the season".
Toto Wolff is satisfied of the results achieved, especially on a track that didn't suit them:
"We were clearly the third fastest team today, so third and fifth positions was probably the maximum we could expect. Although the gaps were not as big as in Spa, this was clearly a track that didn't suit us, so it was a question of maximising our result and doing damage limitation with Lewis. It was enjoyable to watch him fight through the pack - he looked a little bit stuck at the beginning, then once the tyres came together, he was very quick. As for George, he did everything we asked of him, and it was another faultless drive. Looking at the championship, we are 35 points behind with six races to go and we just need to do our best every single week and see where we land after Abu Dhabi. But we also know that our ultimate target was 30 seconds up the road today, and that is the real gap we need to catch up. Finally, a word for Nyck: he did the absolute maximum today, jumping into a car he had barely driven in FP3, then scoring two points. It showed exactly what he is capable of".