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Ferrari regains the victory in Monza after nine years of abstinence and it is Charles Leclerc to repeat, after his first victory in Belgium, at Spa, which has crowned the youngest diver in history to win with Ferrari. The driver Monegasque started from pole and has mounted the Hard tires in the middle of the race, defending himself for all the fifty-three laps first from the attacks of Lewis Hamilton and then from Valtteri Bottas and crossed the finish line from first place. Charles Leclerc compliments Lewis Hamilton, who has nevertheless defended himself for all the fifty-three laps before the attacks of Lewis Hamilton and then by Valtteri Bottas and crossed the finish line from first place. Charles Leclerc congratulations from Lewis Hamilton, who still secured the fast lap bonus and took home a nice haul for himself and his team.
"Congratulations to Leclerc and Ferrari, had so much pressure from me and Bottas but was too fast in the straight even with our Drs open and we couldn’t get past it. Stay behind to Ferrari for so many laps has me destroyed the tires. But for us, a second and a third-place remains a good result, a nice haul of points for detaching the Ferrari in the championship constructors. For the sixth world title? I try to do my best race after race. My advantage is full-bodied but I’ll have to focus on the next races".
Valtteri Bottas comments:
"I gave everything but there was any way to overcome Leclerc: I have given everything I had and I used all the possible mappings but was not enough to win. . Our strategy was good, I think. I went a little longer in the first stint and I had opportunities at the end. I gave everything and tried to take Charles. But there was no way to overcome it, they were too fast on the straight".
And later he will add, dealing with the topic related to the renewal of the contract that made him freer to run peacefully:
"I wouldn’t say that changed mine approach but, surely, there are more external disturbances from this point of view. I don’t need to think about it, I don’t need to make phone calls between races, so it gives you some kind of peace for when you work in the Grand Prix. I feel and I know I have the confidence of the team for the end of this year and 2020: it’s a good feeling and we can focus on work, so it’s a better situation than I had before the break".
Leclerc crosses the finish line in a cry of liberation put his hands on the helmet, raises his fist to the sky and screams for happiness. After the qualifying session ended in controversy manages to give the best victory for the team and the fans.
"What a race! I’ve never been so tired. May I speak Italian? It was a very difficult race, I cared so much about doing well here for the team and the fans. Winning here is a dream, it was already last week for the first time, but in terms of emotions, winning here is ten times more. Thank you all, I haven’t any words. I made a couple of mistakes, but I ended up in first place and I’m glad. But I have to be careful with these mistakes, fortunately, none compromised my position. I never got so tired in a race, there are no words to describe the emotions that I felt in the car and in front of the fans. It was very difficult with the two Mercedes behind, in the end, I struggled with the tyres, but the strategy was right. In Parabolica we were strong. Lewis was struggling behind me and on the straights, we were really strong. I didn’t have an easy start to the season and I did a bit of a mistake. Certainly getting into Ferrari in the second year of Formula 1 was a bit early for me. But in the end, I’m glad I got their trust and proved I deserved it. I don’t know how I will celebrate this victory. Definitely with the team that deserves it. The black and white flag didn’t influence me at all. I knew I was on the edge of what was acceptable and I’m glad I got the win. The last couple of laps I was seeing people and I said to myself to be focused. Yesterday’s qualifying? I didn’t want to hurt the team".
Next, he will add:
"There are no words to describe what I felt in the car and also on the podium with all the fans. It’s awesome. I’m so glad I got the victory here. It was very difficult, especially because there were two Mercedes behind, so they made the game of going a bit longer and a bit shorter and at the end of the race we struggled a bit with our Hard tires, but we made the right strategy and I managed to keep them. I know I made some mistakes. I think in the last 7-8 laps, I said to myself: I have the hard and there was Valtteri who anyway made some mistakes behind, so I thought maybe we can make it now. The last two laps I started looking around, seeing all the people getting excited, but I was like, Charles, stay focused, and we made it".
During the return lap, on the radio the team principal Mattia Binotto told Leclerc: We forgive you, referring to how much has happened during the qualifications? But the winner of the Italian Grand Prix excludes that there was something to be forgiven:
"Because in my opinion yesterday was seen in the wrong way. Because I didn't do anything wrong yesterday and there was nothing I wanted to do for the evil of the team and he said it more to laugh than anything else because he knows it went like this, but it wasn't my fault".
Charles Leclerc manages to move everyone, even Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, who picks up his phone from under the podium and pours a few tears:
"I confess, a few tears to the hymn came. We invested in him and he about us. It was a beautiful ride from the beginning to the end. They are races that remain impressed. He built, Charles, you defended it, we said we would have sold expensive skin. The best choice was the tires white, the hardest ones while the others have chosen yellow (Medium). We knew that in the early laps we would have to defend ourselves with teeth, Charles at that time was great, and then the hard tires at the end stint we were given the chance to breathe, which we would not have had otherwise. We dared to make this choice and to put it into practice, and today we deserved all this. The boy was very good. The first team principal win at Monza was exciting. I shed a few tears during the anthem, I think it’s normal. It’s been a long time since we won here, and we hope to repeat ourselves soon and often. On Leclerc, is to say that a star was born. If anything, the star was born twenty-one years ago, and now the boy is growing race after race and is proving it. We’re investing in him and him on us. Together in the future, we can, and hopefully, we will create something unique. Plan B for Charles? It meant lengthening the first stint. The reason why we chose the Hard is that we have estimated that the usury was not critical. Go with the Mediums after the first stop would have been critical instead. For Singapore, we are working in Maranello on a higher package. When I told Charles today you are forgiven I was referring to what happened in the last few days in which we have spoken among ourselves. For the next races there will be races where we will be competitive and others where not but is hard to say now. We need to develop and giving to the car and our drivers the best opportunities. Today the victory came not only thanks to the power unit but also thanks to our low downforce package. We don’t have to think about what happened in qualifying yesterday but watch further".
And speaking of Vettel, Binotto says:
"Sebastian made a mistake, is clear that he paid it and it paid us as a team, as a result. I am convinced that he would have made a nice podium too. These mistakes are normal, the important thing is to think about them because when those things happen we have to be sure they don’t happen again".
So he adds:
"He will have other opportunities, he is a fast driver, a world champion is not taught to drive. The last disagreements have been clarified, although certain things should remain confidential. In any case, the events of Saturday will not spoil the relationship between Sebastian and Charles. On the other Seb has made a great contribution to overcoming this thing: he said he is ready to turn the page and look forward. A great gesture. It's important that does not happen again".
Piero Ferrari was also present at the Grand Prix, in the front row in the pits:
"I trembled, sweated, then rejoiced with everyone. We had pressure, we imagine him. My dad would have liked Charles so much. It is impressive to see a young man who in the first season in Ferrari manages to win. He was great, better than that I don’t think he could. The pressure was on us watching TV in the pits, I think for him it was very strong, but he knows how to behave. My father would certainly have liked it very much. A young man who comes in Ferrari and the first season wins, more than. So what can you ask him? In my experience, you don’t get results like that if the driver-machine combination doesn’t run perfectly. The team also has to be perfect. At these levels, you can’t afford mistakes".
And speaking of Sebastian Vettel, Piero Ferrari adds:
"I feel very sorry for him, I don’t understand what is happening to him. But we have to be close to him, he has to be close to the team and he has to feel the trust of everyone. I am sure he will recover, he is a great champion. My father left the drivers free to race, to do what they thought, on and off the track, but on one condition: to not damage the cars. First the Scuderia Ferrari. Then the rest. It was his fixed point, his North Star. I think he would have made a speech to the two drivers stating with force this principle. Leclerc's first driver? I will never make these statements".
The young Ferrari driver receives compliments from everyone. Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri comments:
"It's a fantastic feeling. I'm so happy for the team and the fans after nine years of waiting. For this reason, it’s a very exciting victory and rewards all the work done internally and Charles was great. We started the season with Vettel number one and Leclerc number two, but things evolve. I don’t like to argue with those who criticise Sebastian, because I am confident that he will come back. I think there have been some tensions in qualifying and I think Mattia was referring to that one. But Charles is a winner, if we go back in history, they’re all winners. If you look at Michael, he was tough, too. I’m happy with Charles and he did a great job today. There were some areas to strengthen, but the team is united. In the past, there was a revolving door approach and my job is to change the way of doing it".
Ferrari president John Elkann calls it the most beautiful gift for ninety years of the Maranello team:
"Winning in Monza, at home in front of the our fans, it’s an extraordinary emotion. It’s the most beautiful gift with which we can celebrate our ninety years. Very good Charles, and congratulations to Mattia and all the Scuderia for this unforgettable day".
In short, a lot of congratulations, also from his agent Nicolas Todt:
"It’s a very special day. For a Ferrari driver to win in front of his Monza, with the pressure we know, is a fantastic thing, especially for Charles who has so little experience. And his first year in Ferrari, an amazing thing. I’m very happy. He doesn’t seem to feel the pressure. When you have Hamilton behind you for almost 53 laps, being able to resist knowing his ability to drive is something very special. Charles showed that he could also raise the level. It affects his maturity. Everyone can make mistakes, it happened to Lewis today, and it will happen, they are men, however, his coolness and ability to be strong in the important moments are what defines a champion. He’s showing that he’s about to become one. We already have a long-term contract with Ferrari. I think Charles is the driver with the longest-term contract with his team, so we’ll talk about it at the right time".
While the crowd of fans lends itself under the podium, Sebastian Vettel returns to the pits, for him the race was a great personal disappointment. He left fourth, but he had a chance to arrive at the podium, unfortunately, he committed a mistake that sent everything up.
"I’m not happy with myself, I have lost the rear coming into the corner, then I lost it over again and the race was compromised. I struggled to restart, it was impossible to see who came from the left and I was a bit stuck on the curb. If I was in a bad mood for what happened yesterday? No, I was in a good mood, I don’t think it impacted what happened yesterday on today’s race. I don’t know anything about penalty points. Looking ahead we are certainly not the favourites for the championship but we are still racing where we can be competitive. We have the speed so we must develop the car to be competitive for the rest of the year".
The German driver received ten seconds of stop-and-go penalty, while Stroll had a simple drive-through, raising much controversy on a public trail. Accidents are very similar, if not equal, but have been analysed by the AIF and have been analysed in two different ways. The race director Michael Masi, to avoid confusion and controversy, explains the reason behind the difference in the penalty imposed on the drivers.
"The difference between the two is that Vettel got back on track in a very dangerous way and then caused an accident. Instead, considering Lance and Pierre, it was just a dangerous return. This is the difference behind the two different penalties".
Consequence aside, it's is another mistake on Vettel in a season that sees him in great difficulty. Canada was one of the few races that saw the German at best, but even on this occasion, things did not go as expected. The feeling with the SF90 is not there and in the meantime, Leclerc states that:
"To me, the rear lighter doesn’t mind, he makes me put the car where I want".
It’s another story for Vettel. In Belgium, he has been acclaimed by the team play, in qualifying at Monza was lacking, but in the race, there were no apologies, because twice out of three Vettel had no pace. Binotto has underlined most times that his drivers are free to compete, but they have to collaborate for the sake of the team. Nevertheless, the paddock talks about a change of orders, Vettel would lose his status as leader and Leclerc would occupy that space.
"The drivers' contracts are renegotiated only if there are the reasons and conditions for doing so. We invested in Charles for the future and he did the same with us".
The negative comments come obviously outside the team, rumors about a retreat have not yet subsided since the beginning of the season and, after the mistake made at Monza, they increased even more. So much so that Camilleri took the side of the German:
"I don’t like that we are trying to exclude Seb from the team. He is a great driver and I am sure he will come back".
Leclerc then surpassed his teammate even in the league by thirteen points. The Monday after the race, the Monegasque driver is on the front pages of all sports newspapers, depicted as the new star of Ferrari and many other names that put, even more, overshadow the four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Even the director of Scuderia Ferrari, Lauren Mekies, declares:
"The emotions were so many for us, running in front of our fans is always a unique emotion. In addition this year we celebrate 90 years and this week started incredibly with the party that we did in Piazza Duomo in Milan with our fans and the whole Ferrari family. Then yesterday 150.000 people.. Running in front of these fans was an honour and Charles tried to repay this support with victory, so we are very happy. Charles is with us for many years and was part of our Ferrari Driver Academy since he was a teenager. We know him very well, he grew up within the team. He has an incredible speed, as we saw on Sunday, plus is showing a level of maturity and lucidity in the race, which is above expectations. Via radio has us asked a few questions, just that it served him to defend himself and gave us this show of incredible strength. For us, it’s a path of growth that doesn’t stop there. Charles is doing things that haven’t been seen in a long time. Who remembers me? May I say that reminds me of a Sebastian at the beginning, for his natural speed and the ability to take steps ahead every two or three races? Charles in every two or three races is going more strong as pure speed and is learning more about the machine, to go even stronger. In recent memory, I would say has more similarities with Sebastian when he started. It’s true that if it was decided to put him in the car for Ferrari means that the expectations were high, but it’s also true that he’s getting over it. It already has an incredible level of speed and maturity, with regular progress. It’s definitely above our expectations. We have an important role in helping him, to give him the right atmosphere and environment to grow. He likes to compete as he did yesterday, but when he takes off his helmet is the quieter and most human person you can find. We will see more improvements for Charles, in speed and battles. What he did yesterday was also the result of Max Verstappen’s battle in Austria. Sebastian is working very well with us this year. He knows he has a teammate who’s a potential champion and they’re working very well together. Then the mistake yesterday was unlucky, it happens. But nothing changes about the incredible work that both our drivers did together on the road".
The praises don’t exclude criticism, which in one way or another always arrive. Starting with Lewis Hamilton, who complained to the FIA about the dangerous driving of the Monegasque driver. The Mercedes driver revealed that he had thought about the drivers' ranking during the duel, and had been careful not to risk, otherwise if he had already had the safe title in his own hands would have acted differently. This does not alter his behaviour, from the next race he will be more aggressive.
"I don’t think there’s any problem if it’s so that we can race then I’ll race hard. As long as we drivers know that we are allowed not to leave room for other cars then we do so. As long as no one contradicts us and until we are given a clear message, then we will be free to run and receive only a warning. The battle with Charles has been long. Not particularly eventful, they are always been there, a second, a second and a half. I tried, I gave everything, but he was too fast on the straight. Also when I had the DRS open I couldn’t recover, so I couldn’t do much. It’s not a question of difficulty in putting under pressure the young drivers, as I said it was just faster than me on the straight. I don’t think I missed the race for my mistake, my tires were still running low. So Valtteri would overtake me, I would have passed because it was very faster than me, one second per lap, so it would be smart to let him go and give him a chance to win the race. He finally passed me anyway because I went off track, so no problem. There is a need to be consistent with the rules. I think in Race Direction they woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. With Charles, we had a couple of moments when we were very close, but I think we will discuss it privately".
The Mercedes principal team, Toto Wolff, who is not too happy about the management of the issue, suggests that a penalty would not have been so absurd:
"I already have many problems to solve in my life, I don’t want those by Michael Masi. We want hard battles, but where is the limit? They could have given him both penalties, one for pushing out Lewis, the other for being aggressive. In terms of driving has driven a little over the limits, but what do you want to… give him a penalty here in Monza? I think there would have been a riot. We would have needed to be escorted by the police to get off the circuit. I want to give him and his team credit for winning. I thought that Valtteri would have a chance, but following them on the straights, even in open DRS, was difficult. From a general perspective, it’s great to see Ferrari win at Monza. Leclerc had a tough race but brilliant and Ferrari had the stronger package. We tried to both our drivers, but they have won".
The celebrations keep going after the conclusion of the Grand Prix. In Maranello the flag wasn’t not only raised for the first win of the season but also the sales are rising. The director of the commercial and marketing area of the Ferrari, Enrico Galliera, declares:
"We also sold a lot of last years. Indeed, we made the record. And it certainly wasn’t the best of our track years. Because there is never a direct relationship between F1 results and our sales. But I have to admit that this morning, after the victory of Monza, also here in the Ferrari factory there is more enthusiasm, we work in another way".
Galliera is involved in the presentation of the last two born of Ferrari, the F8 Spider and the 812 Gts that according to him:
"Tradition wants it that the purists of aggressive driving prefer the coupé and lovers of glamour choose the spider".
The two cars were presented at Universo Ferrari, the new space born in the Fiorano track area and, despite the differences, both can be defined as aggressive: the 812 Gts boasts an 800 horsepower 12-cylinder, the most powerful spider engine in the world, while the F8 stops at 720 horsepower. Both are under three seconds in acceleration 0-100 km/h, and both exceed 340 km/h in speed. Maranello's launch choices this year have been very bold, with these two models it already reaches 4 new cars in 2019 and in November the fifth will arrive.
"We produce a lot, we sell a lot but we always represent an infinitesimal part of the market. And this allows us to safeguard exclusivity".
In short, a weekend of conquests for Ferrari, and with these, the circus stops for a week waiting to arrive in Singapore, where the fifteenth Grand Prix of the season will be held on Sunday, September 22, 2019.
"Have you been attending the Italian Grand Prix in Monza?"
This begins with the taxi driver who supports Charles Leclerc outside the Monza circuit, who doesn't realise that he has the winner of the Italian Grand Prix on board, and will cautiously reveal his identity only at the end of the race. However, it was also a challenging weekend for the Race Director, Michael Masi, and the FIA, still struggling with the problem in Q3. Considering what happened in qualifying, it was decided to postpone the meeting to Singapore, so that we could find a solution to the problem and prevent it from happening again. The request comes directly from the commissioners, but in the meantime, Masi declares that an analysis has been opened thanks to the simulations, as a similar fact has also taken place in Spa.
"It's an issue that we discussed later at Spa and I believe that everyone in the room, sports directors and drivers, has realised that there is no simple regulatory solution. We will discuss this in more depth in Singapore and some teams have already done simulations, so they have ideas on how to run for cover because it is in everyone's interest".
It must be considered that a pre-qualification measure had already been taken, after the events in F3, but to the regret of Michael Masi himself few drivers, indeed no one has taken it into account.
"At the end of the day, they are elite sportsmen trying to get the most out of it. We can call them gentlemen, but we can't help but recognise that once they lower their visor, everyone thinks they're doing their best".
Max Verstappen is also disappointed with the result, at the end of the race declares:
"The problems he had during the qualifying of the Italian Grand Prix didn't cause damage, it was just a security alarm. Unfortunately, sometimes the qualification mode doesn't work, so we're forced to reset the system. It has happened again in the past. Sometimes I think we play too safe. A little too often the engine reaches the limit and stops. With other engines, this probably doesn't happen. At the same time, however, we didn't have any major reliability problems, but I'm convinced that we should take some more risks. I think without penalty we could have fought with the boys in front of you. I was able to follow them on the screens and I also knew what their lap times were. I must say that without wake they were not so faster than us, and on a track not favourable to us like this is a rather promising signal".
The attention of Max Verstappen's teammate, Alex Albon, obviously falls on Sainz's manoeuvre, which cost him a position:
"It was an approximate move. I was happy with overtaking the Roggia, but he came out better and passed me again. I wanted to overtake him and I knew I could try again at the second of Lesmo, but he pushed me out. We weren't fast on the straight and we had to invent something different in corners. I feel like my pace was better than Spa, so I'm happier".
This concludes an Italian Grand Prix that will remain imprinted in the minds of many people, especially of Ferrari faith. The Maranello team, after nine years, comes back to win at Monza, and there is no doubt that the date of Sunday, September 8, 2019, will remain indelible in the hearts of many new fans of Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc.