Charles Leclerc Triumphant as Ferrari Claims 2024 Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc Celebrates with the Monza Tifosi following his victory in the 2024 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Circuit (Source: Scuderia Ferrari)

MONZA, Italy – Lando Norris’ dominant Dutch Grand Prix victory opened up the door to a whole new title fight for both World Championships, yet heading to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, home favorites of Ferrari with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz could sure put up a fight. At the same time, Red Bull Racing continues to be on the back foot, making the race for the championship open up for more teams and drivers.

Formula 1’s 16th round brings them to the historic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, or “The Temple of Speed,” on the 3.6-mile-long Grand Prix Circuit. One of Europe’s oldest permanent racing circuits, it has a long and storied past and is now home to the Tifosi, who cheer proudly for Scuderia Ferrari.

Lando Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri locked out the front row in qualifying the day before, hoping to extend their advantage over the field. Meanwhile, Franco Colapinto, replacing American Logan Sargeant at Williams, placed 18th in his first qualifying attempt in F1.

The opening strategies for the expected two-stop with a possible one-stop were revealed when the tire blankets were removed from the cars ahead of lights out. A majority of the field elected to start on the Medium compound tires, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, and Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas elected to start on the Hard compound tires.

Norris led the field around the track for the formation lap and lined up, preparing for the start of the Italian Grand Prix and hopefully not losing the lead off the line, which has happened multiple times prior. The lights went out, and Norris could hold onto the lead, covering off Piastri while the Mercedes of George Russell had to skip the first chicane, run down the escape route, and lose out on positions along with a slightly damaged front wing.

However, Piastri got a run on his teammate heading into the second chicane in a tight battle, opening up for Leclerc to take second while Piastri went off into the distance.

Charles Leclerc (16) on track during Saturday Qualifying ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Circuit (Source: Scuderia Ferrari)

Down the order, the opening chaos had the race stewards looking at contact between Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas and Daniel Ricciardo’s Visa Cash App RB. Replays showed the Haas going off-road after being squeezed by the RB after squeezing the other RB of Tsunoda. Hulkenberg pitted on Lap 6 for a new front wing and a set of Hard tires. On Lap 8, the stewards handed Ricciardo a five-second penalty for racing against the Haas. At the same time, Tsunoda retired his car following his collision with Hulkenberg, giving the Haas driver a 10-second penalty.

After passing by Perez, Mercedes called Russell in for a new wing and a set of Hard compound tires on Lap 12.

Piastri had opened up his lead on Lap 14 to over three seconds over Leclerc, while McLaren had opted for the undercut for Norris to get him around the Ferrari, though locking up heading into the pits would not help. A lap later, Leclerc and Ferrari responded for his pit stop, and the undercut served Norris perfectly as he got back around the Ferrari. Lap 17 had Piastri come in with a slightly closer gap between the two McLarens. Leclerc bemoaned the stop timing, but Ferrari perhaps had different plans.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo was handed a second penalty, this time 10 seconds for a failure to stop correctly.

A radio message From McLaren to Norris raised some ears as the call of “Papaya Rules” showed up, thinking about team orders to prioritize Norris in his fight for the championship. But the radio call soon clarified that Piastri and Norris could fight for the lead. At the same time, the stewards now had to focus on the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly after a skirmish resulted in contact between both drivers.

Magnussen was soon hit with his 10-second penalty following the collision with Gasly. He was then hit with two penalty points to his Super License, marking his total to 12. This made him the first driver to face a race ban since Romain Grosjean in 2012. Magnussen will be missing the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc (16) runs past stands full of fans during Saturday track activity ahead of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Circuit (Source: Scuderia Ferrari)

As the laps kept ticking on, Piastri was still in control, holding a two-and-a-half-second advantage over Norris. Leclerc led Sainz in third and fourth. Lewis Hamilton had his Mercedes holding onto fifth as it seemed the Mercedes could not compete against McLaren and Ferrari. Leclerc was charging Norris, but a lockup from the McLaren pulled the Ferrari even closer to second.

McLaren brought Norris down to the pits on Lap 33 following the lockup, bringing him out behind Verstappen, who asked his Red Bull pit wall if he should race him, which he did. Piastri debated his pit wall on whether a one-stop strategy would work, but with his front left falling away, the leader went down pit road on Lap 39, coming out ahead of his teammate.

The laps kept clicking down as Leclerc and Sainz ran up front, hoping a one-stop strategy would work in front of their home crowd. However, fresh tires on both Piasti and Norris would be their biggest test. At 10 laps remaining, Leclerc was up 11 seconds on his teammate, but Piastri was closing in quickly. On Lap 45, Piastri swept by Sainz to work on closing in on Leclerc, with Norris not also behind.

Leclerc’s lead shrunk as Piastri closed in at an incredible pace, but with the Tifosi willing him on and consistent lap times, the chances of Piastri making his way past diminished.

As the checkered flag flew at the end of the 53rd lap, Charles Leclerc crossed the line 2.6 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, claiming his second victory of the season and the second of his career at Monza in front of the Ferrari faithful. Lando Norris had to settle for third, claiming the fastest lap on the final lap. Sainz finished fourth on his birthday, ahead of Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc embraced by his Scuderia Ferrari team following his victory in the 2024 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Circuit (Source: Scuderia Ferrari)

Verstappen brought his Red Bull home sixth after a difficult day for Red Bull, ahead of Russell and his teammate Perez for seventh and eighth. Alex Albon brought his Williams home ninth ahead of Magnussen, even with his 10-second penalty, closing out the Top 10.

Fernando Alonso brought his Aston Martin home 11th, just outside of the Top 10, ahead of Colapinto, claiming 12th in his debut with Ricciardo, the Alpine pair of Ocon and Gasly behind closing out the Top 15. Bottas finished 16th, ahead of Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu with Stroll down in 19th. Tsunoda rounded out the field as the only driver not to finish.

Formula 1 now heads to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The surge of speed from McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes means that the fight for the championship against Red Bull is getting even closer to a four-way battle for overall glory.