Italian GP: Leclerc fends off McLaren pair to deliver home win for Ferrari at Monza
Charles Leclerc sparked frenzied Ferrari celebrations with a surprise home Italian Grand Prix victory on Sunday, as favourites McLaren missed a chance to go top in the Formula One championship.
The Monegasque finished 2.664 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who took the lead on lap one from teammate and title contender Lando Norris, as Ferrari made a bold strategy decision and reaped the benefits.
Norris finished third after starting from pole position on Monza's super-fast circuit, and is currently 62 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished sixth, with eight races remaining.
Leclerc won by making only one pitstop compared to McLaren's two, and he hung on for 38 of the 53 circuits on hard tyres.
"Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia," he said over the team radio as former Italy soccer player Alessandro Del Piero waved the checkered flag.
"It's an incredible feeling," Leclerc remarked before the podium celebrations and the typical track invasion by an army of supporters who flooded the pit straight with red shirts and flags.
"I want to win Monza and Monaco every year and I have managed to do so. It is so, so special."
Leclerc, who won at Monza in 2019 and at home in Monaco this year, was 11 seconds clear with seven laps to go and 8.3 ahead with five left as the crowd cheered him on to his second victory of the season.
Piastri, who acknowledged the defeat hurt, pitted for the second time on lap 39, after Norris' pit stop at the conclusion of lap 32.
"We considered a one-stop strategy the whole race but it was not possible with the amount of (tyre) graining I had," said Norris, who took a bonus point for fastest lap.
"We are disappointed but Ferrari drove a better race."
McLaren are now eight points behind Red Bull, down from 30.
On the first lap, Piastri passed Norris at the second chicane, forcing the Briton to back off and allowing Leclerc, who started fourth, to surge by.
Norris reclaimed the lead by pitting earlier than Leclerc, an advantage that held him ahead when the Ferrari arrived, but the strategy unravelled, leaving McLaren with questions regarding team priorities and tactics.
"Oscar caught me by surprise as he got past," Norris told reporters. "I don't know what I could have done differently. If I brake a metre later, I probably would have crashed."
Carlos Sainz finished fourth for Ferrari, but was passed by both McLarens in the late stages, with Mercedes' seven-time world champion and future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton coming in fifth place.
George Russell finished seventh for Mercedes after starting third but running off the circuit and down the escape lane at the start, damaging his car.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished eighth, continuing a string of disappointments, and Alex Albon earned valuable points in ninth for Williams, who had Argentine Franco Colapintro finish 12th in his debut as Logan Sargeant's substitute.
Kevin Magnussen finished 10th for Haas, despite receiving a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, which resulted in an automatic disqualification for the next race in Baku.
SportsLigue