FIVE KEY TALKING POINTS FROM MONZA
1. Charles Leclerc: the new hope
A sea of red swamped the start-finish straight in the minutes after the end of last Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. After waiting nine long years, the Monza faithful had finally been rewarded when Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line to record his second straight victory and Ferrari’s first home win since 2010.
After 53 thrilling laps, mechanics from Maranello climbed the fence next to their pit gantry and pumped their fists into the air.
On the opposite side of the track, the tifosi – head-to-toe in scarlet – cheered their approval in unison. Leclerc’s victory from pole position, in front of the partisan crowd, was significant for two reasons.
Firstly, it represented the moment he came of age as a grand prix driver, not only because he had to fight for victory under the most intense pressure from both Mercedes drivers but because he had the weight of Italy willing him to succeed too.
Despite one mistake where he straight-lined the first chicane and a black and white warning flag for a robust defence of his position from Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc held on to take a momentous victory.
Secondly it signalled another shift. His team-mate, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel made an unforced error, spinning on his own accord at the Ascari chicane and finishing a lowly 13th. The momentum in the team has now swung to the youthful side of the red garage.
The 21-year-old was asked about the pressure he’d felt in the closing stages and explained how he was able to stay focused. “I could see activity in the grandstands and I knew how much it would mean to them,” said Leclerc. “I told myself to stop looking at the crowds and to look at the track and focus on my driving.”
When the Monaco-born driver ran onto the podium, he emerged above the sea of euphoria and soaked up the atmosphere. “It felt amazing,” he added. “I’d never seen a podium with so many people stretching all the way down the straight before. It was 99% red and they were all singing and clapping. There was a lot of emotion.”
When the Ferrari man made his one and only pitstop, he switched to a hard compound tyre, while the Mercedes duo opted for medium Pirellis (after they’d started on the soft).
For three-quarters of the race Hamilton had Leclerc in his sights and would regularly try and close-up as the pair rounded the Parabolica. But he found the pace of the Ferrari power unit negated his deployment of DRS as they sped along the startfinish straight. With his tyres shot, Hamilton made a mistake at the first chicane and the crowd roared with delight. His Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas inherited second with 12 laps to go and, despite attacking Leclerc in the closing stages, he also made a mistake at the Rettifilo and was forced to settle for second.
Spa and Monza have highlighted Ferrari’s power advantage, but Singapore will be an altogether different story.