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Tyres NorthamptonA plucky one-stop Pirelli tyre strategy for the Italian outfit saw them outwit McLaren, who let another win slip through their fingers in Monza.
McLaren had both their drivers starting the race from the front row after an incredible 1-2 performance in qualifying. Lando Norris took pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri and would've been hopeful to put a dent in Max Verstappen's championship lead by the chequered flag. The Dutchman stuttered to a disappointing P7 on Saturday and didn't have the pace to compete with the podium positions all weekend. Norris turning pole into a victory would've eaten Verstappen's points advantage.
A glimpse of the frustrations to come for Norris happened on the opening lap. The Brit has struggled to keep any Lap 1 advantage all season long, and his first tour of Monza was no exception. He and Piastri fended off the charge of those behind into the first chicane, but they duelled with each other into the Della Roggia braking zone. Piastri swept to the outside of the left-hander and outdrove Norris in an incredibly brave overtake to snatch the lead. Norris, who needed to collect oversteer to avoid contact, then doubly lost out as the P4-starting Leclerc attacked and secured P2 into the first Lesmo.
First to third for Norris wasn't how he dreamt his Italian Sunday would go, but he still fared better than Mercedes' George Russell. Russell, who now knows he'll be the lead driver at the Silver Arrows alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli next year, took to the escape road at Rettifilo on the opening lap to avoid contact with Piastri. He had started P3 but had dropped down to P7 when he rejoined, dashing any hopes of silverware and handing the challenger baton to Leclerc instead.
Although on-track overtakes were at a premium in the upper points-paying positions, the battle for the best-of-the-rest places was frantic. Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and Kevin Magnussen all had moments of crunching contact with each other. Time penalties from the stewards added another dimension to the midfield race, with Williams' Alex Albon benefitting most by securing P9 ahead of Magnussen thanks to the Dane's 10-second demotion. Magnussen now faces a race ban for Baku in a fortnight after exceeding his super licence's penalty points.
In the battle for the podium places, Norris returned to P2 during the pit stop period by undercutting Leclerc. He couldn't get close to the Ferrari on track, instead needing his team to undo the Lap 1 damage, and seemed to be set for a P2 finish behind his young Australian teammate. This race wasn't to be a straightforward one for McLaren, though. Their choice to run three Pirellis rather than maximise the tyre life cost them dearly.
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Seemingly expecting Ferrari, who had both cars of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz chasing down Norris, to pit again, McLaren stopped Norris for a second time to prevent an undercut on Lap 32. They repeated what proved to be a race-losing error with Piastri six laps later, gifting track position to the Scuderia, even though Norris wasn't lapping much faster than Leclerc on his fresh rubber. Although Sainz fell victim to both McLaren cars before long, his Monegasque teammate was still 11 seconds up the road with the laps ticking down.
Norris also had to pass Verstappen on his way back through the field in a battle of the championship leaders, though the stakes seemed much lower as they fought over fourth. The Red Bull driver had a race filled with complaints over his car's performance, with many radio soundbites to his race engineer. He eventually crossed the line in a distant P6, 37 seconds away from victory but ahead of Russell, who suffered a Sunday to forget.
The slowly closing gap between Piastri and Leclerc made the last laps tense for those in the grandstands. Leclerc looked to have the pace, but his old Pirelli tyres weren't as fast as Piastri's new ones. Nonetheless, they held on long enough to see Ferrari win on home soil by 2.6 seconds. Leclerc becomes 2024's fourth repeat winner in a season where victory can land in the lap of any of the top four teams, and he is now within a race win of Norris' P2 in the standings.
There's a two-week gap before F1's next doubleheader event in Azerbaijan and Singapore. McLaren must establish whether they will invoke team orders to help Norris secure every point in the fight against Verstappen as the season finale inches closer. Sixty-two points separate the two atop the standings, while Red Bull's Constuctors' Championship lead is at a slender eight points. It's all to play for in 2024's final eight rounds.