Monza win ‘dream’ for Leclerc
MONZA, Italy: Charles Leclerc triggered frenzied Ferrari celebrations yesterday after holding off a racelong Mercedes challenge to take the Italian Formula One team’s first home grand prix victory since 2010.
Valtteri Bottas was second for Mercedes and fivetime world champion Lewis Hamilton a distant third after tyre wear took its toll in a thrilling battle with the 21yearold Monegasque.
‘‘What a race. I have never been so tired,’’ Leclerc gasped as a sea of fans, starved of success at Monza since Fernando Alonso won in the red overalls, swept on to the pit straight to party below the overhanging podium with flags and flares.
‘‘Winning here is just a dream,’’ continued the winner, switching to fluent Italian to address a crowd cheering a fitting triumph on the 90th anniversary of both Monza and Formula One’s most glamorous team.
‘‘Last weekend [in
Belgium] was my first victory, but the emotion of winning here is 10 times that,’’ Leclerc, now a twotime winner — and Ferrari’s sole one so far this season — in only his 14th race for Ferrari, said. ‘‘Thanks to everybody. I have no words.
Hamilton’s lead over closest rival Bottas was cut to 63 points from 65, the Briton limiting the damage by making a late pitstop for fresh tyres to set the fastest lap and gain an extra point.
Leclerc’s German teammate, Sebastian Vettel, had an afternoon to forget, going from bad to worse at the one circuit where every Ferrari driver wants to impress.
While Leclerc led from pole position, the fourtime champion spun off, plunged to last and served a 10sec stop/go penalty for a dangerous return to the track.
He was then lapped by his impressive teammate, who is now 13 points above him in the standings and fast becoming the main man at Maranello.
Mercedes leads Ferrari in the constructors’ standings by 154 points.
Stewards also handed Vettel three penalty points, taking his 12month tally to nine. Three more in the next three races will trigger a onerace ban. — Reuters