In what’s been a year absolutely dominated by Mercedes from the start, the Monza Grand Prix was a refreshing change. Pierre Gasly of Honda ranked #1 in the podium, followed by Carlos Sainz from Mclaren and Lance Stroll from Racing Point. Lewis Hamilton, the reigning champion came in 7th while Ferrari had an extremely humiliating weekend overall.
In what was a thrilling race, Gasly became the first Frenchman in 30 years to win an F1 race, since Oliver Panis in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. Late on in the race, he held off the surge from Sainz to seal the deal. Speaking to the media after the race, he said,” Honestly, it’s unbelievable, I’m not sure I’m realising what’s happening right now, it was such a crazy race.”
“I’ve been through so much in the space of 18 months, my first podium last year and now the win in Monza!”
However, the Ferrari team, which was coincidentally filmed by Netflix for the third season of their hit show Drive To Survive, had a weekend to forget. Sebastian Vettel retired early with a brake failure while Charles Leclerc crashed heavily into the tyre wall at Parabolica, due to which the race had to be momentarily stopped. Thankfully, Leclerc came out of the crash unscathed.
British legend Lewis Hamilton finished seventh after starting on pole and dropping to last following a 10-second stop/go penalty for entering the pit lane under a red light while leading. However, despite his poor finish he still managed to maintain his 47-point lead at the top, as teammate Bottas came third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen retired.
Hamilton took his defeat graciously, stating, “Huge congratulations to Pierre, it is a fantastic result for him and to see him recover and grow.”
“It wasn’t meant to be for me today, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I actually enjoyed that bit of a battle, coming back up through the pack. I am delighted to take points after being 20+seconds off the back of the field.”
More of this please, Gasly and F1!
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