Verstappen triumph in Ferrari country

With his debut victory in Monza, Max Verstappen spoiled the red Ferrari party for the Tifosi and, with whistles from the stands, already put himself in title position for the next race. The 24-year-old Formula 1 world champion and world championship leader drove to victory at the Italian Grand Prix in a Red Bull on Sunday from seventh place on the grid - behind the safety car.

In front of well over 100 disappointed fans, as well as Italy's President Sergio Mattarella and Monaco's Prince Albert, Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari ultimately had to settle for second place despite taking pole. George Russell came third in a Mercedes. At the top, however, Verstappen was the measure of all things for the eleventh time this year. With a lead of 000 points over Leclerc, he can mathematically win his second world title early in Singapore on October 116nd.

The pressure on Leclerc and Ferrari was enormous, the Tifosi's enthusiasm was boundless, and the atmosphere was gigantic. Finally back in front of full stands without the restrictions of the corona pandemic, the installation rounds became a celebration in the stands. Bright sunshine also made the yellow on the SF-75 really shine in honor of the home of company founder Enzo Ferrari.

At the start of the race, Leclerc was still able to hold his own. © ANSA / MATTEO BAZZI

The great danger for everyone on the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, which was built 100 years ago: curve one. But everything went well. Leclerc defended his pole, the spectators went crazy again, Russell's attack had no consequences. Verstappen gained two places. “We may not be throwing the party, but we shouldn’t start celebrating so quickly,” Red Bull’s motorsport director Helmut Marko had already emphasized before the start. And Verstappen, winner most recently in Spa-Francorchamps and the Netherlands after the summer break, continued to catch up. On the fifth lap he finally overtook Russell just before the chicane.

Now it became the hoped-for and exciting duel between the defending champion, who had never won in Monza before and had landed on Lewis Hamilton's car in a nasty crash a year ago, and Leclerc, the Ferrari star of the same age who was already hopelessly behind in the World Cup. 109 points separated the two before the 16th of 22 races of the season.

Verstappen was initially one and a half to almost two seconds behind. Unlike his wilder years, the highly gifted Dutchman acted in a more controlled, calculating manner. The pressure was on Ferrari, especially after numerous mistakes and strategy errors at the home game, Ferrari boss John Elkann also followed the events on the spot.

“If Verstappen switches to Plan C, we will do Plan B, agreed,” the Scuderia command post radioed Leclerc. The parked Aston Martin then triggered a virtual safety car phase. Plan A now at Ferrari: Leclerc came into the pits for new, medium-hard tires and lined up again behind Verstappen and Russell. There was no catching up Verstappen stayed outside; he and his crew knew that Leclerc's rubber would have to last a long time. Almost halfway through the 53 laps, the medium tires were fitted to Verstappen's car. The two crucial questions: Would he be able to catch up with Leclerc, now more than ten seconds behind, or would Leclerc have to pit again?

Then the radio message to the Monegasque: “Box, box.” Leclerc got the fastest mix. There were still 20 laps to go, the gap was around 20 seconds. Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren stopped six laps before the end. The safety car had to come out, Verstappen's lead was gone. The duelists got new tires for the showdown. But it took a while until the car was towed away. Too long, the race ended behind the safety car. The result © Social Media

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Verstappen triumph in Ferrari country

The ending was somehow undignified. On the high-speed track in Monza, the cars roll to the finish behind the safety car. With a bad ending for Ferrari. No victory, the dominator from the Netherlands gets it. The title beckons in the next race.

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