Monza Grand Prix Race Highlights

The recently finished Italian Grand Prix saw Charles Leclerc get a podium finish for the second consecutive time since Belgium. His victory of Ferrari home soil is the first for Scuderia since Fernando Alonso’s win nine years ago.

It has turned LeClerc into the point person for Ferrari and turned the tables on his teammate Vettel who was one of the hopefuls for the championship before the Belgian race.

For the majority of the race, it seemed like Lewis Hamilton would deny Ferrari the chance to gain victory on home grounds. However, once the champion’s tires went off during the closing stages of the race, it was left to his teammate Bottas to launch an assault on LeClerc.

Bottas overtook Hamilton during the last ten laps and managed to keep one to a three-second trail on LeClerc. However, the Monegasque driver was able to stay calm despite the pressure and maintain the lead.

Bottas came home a close second while Hamilton completed in third place.

Vettel, on the other hand, had one of the worst race days of his career.

He was holding a comfortable fourth at the time he dropped his car on his own at Ascari. He ended up sideways, then clipped Lance Stroll when he was rejoining resulting in Stroll going into a spin.

He got a 10-second stop-and-go penalty after rejoining the track and collecting Stroll.

His penalty for dangerous driving has left him three license points away from a ban. The next points to be dropped do not expire until October, which means he has to navigate the upcoming three races without collecting three other points.

It is quite hard because as the seasoned driver and former four-time champion, he was the beacon for Ferrari. The shine has since gone to the rookie who has gone to star status within two races.

Other teams also had reason to celebrate like Renault, which saw Daniel Ricciardo claim fourth place. It was his season’s best ahead of teammate Hulkenberg who finished fifth. This was Renault’s best showing this season.

It was a disappointing result for championship hopeful Max Verstappen who came in at eighth behind his teammate Alex Albon. Albon ended up sixth, which is one position lower than his finish in Belgium.

Antonio Giovinazzi chose the opportune moment to score the second points finish of the year coming in at ninth for team Alfa Romeo. Lando Norris completed the top ten or McLaren.