Gasly wins Italian Grand Prix as Hamilton given penalty
AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly claimed an unlikely victory at the Italian Grand Prix after a thrilling race which saw world champion Lewis Hamilton given a 10second penalty and both Ferraris fail to finish at their home circuit. It was Gasly's first-ever win in Formula One in his 55th race and the first for a French driver since Olivier Panis in 1996.
The 24-year-old Frenchman finished 0.415 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Carlos Sainz and 3.358 ahead of Racing Point's Lance Stroll on a surreallooking podium. All three drivers had never won a race and each had only one topthree finish to their name.
It was the first time since 2013, when Kimi Raikkonen triumphed with Lotus in Australia, that a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull had won a race. "It's unbelievable," gasped Gasly, who was dropped by Red Bull's main team last year but has come on in strides in the strangest of seasons disrupted by COVID-19 and without spectators. "It was such a crazy race and we capitalised on the red flag. I have been through so much in the space of 18 months, to get my first win in Formula 1 I am struggling for words."
The victory was the second for the former Toro Rosso team whose only other win was also at Monza with Sebastian Vettel in 2008. "I was so close but yet so far," said Sainz, who had also dreamed of taking his first win before joining Ferrari next year. "I needed one more lap."
Hamilton appeared on course for a comfortable victory from pole position but he was given the stop-go penalty for entering the pit lane when closed. The Mercedes driver finished seventh, 17.245 behind Gasly. Despite the setback, the six-time world champion retained his 47point lead at the top - now over team mate Valtteri Bottas, who was fifth, after Red Bull's Max Verstappen retired. Hamilton has 164 points after eight races to Bottas's 117 and Verstappen's 110. Ferrari's abysmal weekend continued as Vettel had a brake failure on Lap 7 and he limped into the pits with his right-rear brake disc in flames.