Monza is the most iconic race after Monaco, every driver dreams of standing over the crowd, preferably dressed in red. The track maintained is reputation of giving us a fun race.
Quali-italia
Unlike most qualifying sessions this year, Red Bull had to work for the performance in Monza. The home team brought their A game and some fresh engines to give them their best shot a win. Both Sainz and Leclerc pulled out stunning lap time to claim 1st and 3rd positions respectively. Edging out Max by 0.013secound Carlos ticked out his bucket list and acquired his first Monza pole.
To Race or not to Race
The race start was everything Ferrari hoped for. Sainz held back Max till turn 1 and Charles was right on his back. Carlos was able to hold of Max for 14 laps before the degradation on his tires was more than he could bear. A small lock up in turn cost him the lead. Sainz put on an incredible defense but in the end the Red Bulls race pace and ability to manage tires better was too much. He eventually closed in 3rd.
Max was patient and calm through the race. Even when Sainz went right on the limit to defend, he kept his head level and just waited for the Ferraris tires to fall of and the inevitable mistake. Upon a tiny lock up by Sainz and an opportunity presented itself. But al Max needs is a tiny opportunity and he pounced on it, claiming 1st position. He held on to that till the end and went on to break the record for a 10-win streak.
Leclerc has a quiet weekend even though he qualified 3rd, he was eventually relegated to 4th as Perez passed both him and Carlos to claim 2nd. He last minute dash to try for 3rd was exciting and let’s be honest here, very risky. But Sainz was never going to give it up easy.
Risk versus Reward
Racing will always have risk, the risk taken is always measured against the possible reward. Monza was no exception. All teams took risk, but some more than others.
Frederic Vasseur had the right idea of letting his driver’s race. He is trying to instill a winning ideology with his drivers. However, he should have been clear on racing without risk. The last lap lunge by Charles was too risky and could have ended in disaster.
Lewis started on hard tires with the hopes of getting an advantage later. He got this but it almost ended in tears. Whether poor judgement or lack thereof, his overtake on the rookie Piastri left him with no damage but destroyed the McLaren driver’s race. Sure he received a 5 second penalty, but that left little to console Oscar.
Conclusion
Ferrari seemed to have found pace once again. We will only know if the was track specific or not, once we hit the humid street track of Singapore. They did manage to jump Aston Martin to claim 3rd spot in the constructor’s championship.
Max broke Red Bull’s own previous record of 9 consecutive race wins. With the Driver’s and most likely Constructors wrapped up, the target surely must be a clean sweep of race wins for the team. C
Can anyone stop the Bulls?
