2024 Italian Grand Prix | 6 talking points

One-stop catches McLaren on the hop

Leclerc vented his frustration on the radio when Norris undercut ahead after the Ferrari’s early pitstop on lap 15. But when his team then improvised to run all the way to the chequered flag without another stop, against all expectations the Monegasque suddenly found himself in prime position to claim his seventh Formula 1 career victory and second at Monza five years after his first.

Leclerc had slipped ahead of Norris out of the second chicane following Piastri’s audacious pass for the lead that cost Norris momentum. But Leclerc slipped back to third after the first round of stops – after which Ferrari chose to keep him out there. That meant a stint length of 38 laps, but once the McLarens had come in for a second time could he really cling on to his lead?

Long-time leader Piastri found himself with an 11-second deficit after his final pit visit with eight laps to go. But the Australian’s huge tyre life advantage didn’t equate to him biting huge chunks out of Leclerc’s lead. He closed, of course he did, and the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr. – who also took the one-stop option – was powerless to stop both Leclerc and Norris scorching past. But in the case of Leclerc, Piastri came up 2.664 seconds short.

Credit to Ferrari’s strategists – and huge credit to Leclerc, F1’s latest tyre whisperer, for maintaining enough life in his hard-compound Pirellis to pull it off. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and all that. Could McLaren have switched to a one-stopper and kept the victory? Leclerc’s feat suggests so, although in the heat of the moment neither Piastri nor Norris felt their graining front tyres would have lasted. So, credit too to the Ferrari SF-24 itself. It made the difference when it mattered the most.

Piastri goes aggressive in ‘Papaya Rules’ combat

How Piastri passed Norris at Monza’s second chicane on the opening lap has left McLaren pondering whether it needs to review the ‘Papaya Rules’ code of conduct between its drivers that it referred to openly during the race. Piastri ran wheel to wheel with his team-mate on the outside line out of Curva Grande and then simply braked later, leaving him on the inside for the second part of the chicane to take the lead. They avoided contact – just – but only because Norris reacted accordingly.

Piastri knew his team-mate was always going to be more cautious because, as Max Verstappen’s only serious title challenger he has so much more to lose. Still, the Aussie was taking a massive risk in racing so aggressively. If the papaya cars had collided there would have been hell to pay with team boss Andrea Stella. But Piastri walked the line – and until Leclerc and Ferrari pulled the rug, his daring looked to have won the day.

But what happens next? That’s what McLaren must now decide. Norris still outscored Verstappen at Monza by a healthy margin, but without the defeat to his team-mate the points swing would clearly have been greater. Should McLaren keep it pure and just let them race on – or is it time for Piastri to start riding shotgun to give Norris every chance of becoming champion? That’s a heavily loaded question.

Verstappen gloomy on both titles

Sixth place from just seventh on the grid and Norris’s fastest lap leaves the Englishman 62 points down on Verstappen in the title race, with eight to play. Meanwhile McLaren has closed to within just eight points of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, with Ferrari a further 31 behind. And as far as Verstappen is concerned, that means it’s all to play for – on both championship fronts.

The Dutchman’s assessment that neither title is currently “realistic” painted a bleak picture of where his team now finds itself. The same team that allowed him to dominate the early month of this season. But now, from what he described as “the most dominant car ever,” in the form of the 2023 RB19, “we basically turned it into a monster.”

A slow pitstop contributed to Verstappen’s 38 second gap to Leclerc, running a novel hard-hard-medium strategy that didn’t help much either. Even so, it’s incredible how quickly fortunes have turned against Red Bull, all in the wake of Adrian Newey’s decision to depart. For Norris to become drivers’ champion would still take the biggest points turnaround F1 has ever seen, but yes, McLaren now looks the hot favourite to scoop the teams’ title. What a run-in we are set for.

Russell left to rue first corner error

Mercedes ended up playing a bit-part in the Monza drama despite George Russell starting third behind the McLaren pair. But a misjudgement at the first turn as the darting Piastri braked for the chicane left Russell clipping the Aussie’s heels, deranging a front wing endplate and forcing him to zig-zag through the escape road. Russell recovered well to finish seventh, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton fifth behind Sainz and ahead of Verstappen.

Underwhelming, on a weekend when Mercedes finally confirmed that its Formula 2 hotshot Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been granted the honour of replacing Hamilton at the team next year. In the opening free practice at Monza, Antonelli took over Russell’s car – and crashed heavily at Parabolica. Never mind that, said team chief Toto Wolff, did you see his speed? When you’re blessed, apparently you can do no wrong. For now at least.

Magnussen scores – then gets a ban

Behind eighth-place Sergio Pérez, Kevin Magnussen finished a fine ninth on the road for Haas. But that became tenth once a ten-second penalty was applied, lifting Alex Albon up a place to secure a valuable couple of points for Williams.

Magnussen’s crime was contact with Pierre Gasly, a moment that even the Frenchman suggested was no big deal. And the Alpine driver even offered to speak on the Dane’s behalf when it emerged the two penalty points on his licence he picked up increased his total to 12, which means he faces a ban for Baku. After such a drive, and in the wake of Magnussen looking set for an F1 exit with OIiver Bearman’s confirmation for his seat in 2025, the one-race ban must feel like a kick in the teeth when he’s already down.

Colapinto makes a decent debut

Last word this week to Franco Colapinto, the Argentinian who has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams for the rest of the season. At short notice, the 21-year-old followed in the footsteps of countrymen such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Carlos Reutemann and Argentina’s most recent F1 driver, Gastón Mazzacane, and acquitted himself well. He finished 12^th on the same one-stop strategy his team-mate Albon used, ending up 13 seconds off a points-paying position. In the circumstances, Williams couldn’t have expected much more from its new recruit.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.