There always seems to be one driver at any given time that holds the media focus. As this is Italy and everyone favourite bridesmaid, Sainz, is it. Everyone says that Sainz is fast but "it's a shame that..." or "if it wasn't for..." Borne out on Lap 15 when he spun and was told to "calm down and don't go too fast" over the radio. He wasn't able to put up much of a fight when Hamilton had to come back through the pack later in the race. Hiring Sainz was never a bold move by Ferrari and I think he will be another driver who will show that LeClerc is in another class.
Rain an hour before the race started to spice things up but, bizarrely, only at one corner. We kept being shown the rainy corner but I suppose the feed goes out all over the world and some viewers are not as familiar with rain as we are in Glasgow.
Gasly started on extreme wets, which was a hero or zero move. Vettel started from the pit lane as both his and Stroll's brakes caught fire. This eventually led to a time penalty later in the race when the stewards finally decided he didn't have his tires on in time to compete. Stroll however had quite a good race, holding up Bottas for a considerable chunk of the race. More of Bottas later...
Ironically, at Aqua Minerale, LeClerc spun out on the formation lap but fortunately is allowed to regain his position if he can get there before arriving on the pit straight otherwise he starts from the pit lane - is this true, I'm sure I've seen others have their race ended this way?
Vertaappen and Hamilton went head to head at the start with Perez ducking out almost immediately. Latifi spun on lap 1 predictably, got it back on track and then spun again nudged by Mazepin. Money can buy you a seat in Formula 1 but you may just be sitting in it statically. The Ferraris really struggled with the wet conditions then LeClerc got into the groove and overtook Perez. Thus all the wingmen were running their own races and unable to give assistance to the #1 Drivers.
Mick Schumacher spun at the pit lance exit as he was warming his tires on Lap 4 under the safety car and lost his front wing, he then went the whole way round. We watched him go round the whole lap, some good advertising coverage for the Haas. However, the pit lane entrance was closed so he had to go round for another lap. It was looking like we weren't going to see the Haas again after this point. They pootled round and finished at the back but Mazepin put in a spin on the penultimate lap.
Things continue to go not quite right for Ricciardo, asked to let Norris pass him on Lap 19, becoming another pootler and finishing mid-points.
Verstappen always seems to panic when he's in the lead and starts questioning everything. Generally as at this point in the race when not much is happening. However, we were heading towards the time when the question of changing to slicks was rumbling.
Mid-race the big tire change happened from wets to slicks. Vettel was the guinea pig and a few laps later Verstappen blinked first, then a Ferrari followed by Hamilton a lap later. Lewis was held up by a slightly slower stop and having to wait for a car to go past before being released.
Laps later he slips going round a corner, locks up and nudges the barrier. Given he was in a gravel trap, he escaped and got back on the track having sustained some (more) damage to the front wing. We were distracted from this however by a much greater incident involving Russell (again, will he ever earn points?) and Bottas, who had been having an atrocious race. It's been a while since I chanted "get out, get out, get out" at the TV whilst waiting for drivers to get out of a crashed car. And it seems very old school that it was Russell who had to approach Bottas in his car, was it for a shout or to check he was okay? Both drivers had a good swear on the radio and looked very winded, they accorded each other the blame. As manager of Russell and principal for Bottas, I bet Toto Wolff is looking forward to a pleasant conversation over some chianti later. The subsequent safety car and red flag saved Hamilton. He got to show that he is able to overtake other cars, which has been questioned recently.
Having survived being the first car behind the big crash, Raikkonen then spun off behind the safety car at the rolling start. As did Verstappen, taking a wee trip over the grass, with a lucky escape, keeping the lead.
The rolling start gave Norris a jump into second place. Then Tsunoda spun off but was quickly cleared, the fear was another safety car or red flag (which is very serious when you have to watch the race after you've put your children to bed and don't want to be up all night).
I remember when going into the gravel trap was the kiss of death for your race but these drivers seem to be able to keep the engine going and slowly extricate themselves. First Hamilton and then Perez (continuing his work showing that Verstappen is unbeatable within the team) were able to continue racing this way.
Moving on through the lull that was the second, dry, half of the race, Stroll broadcast a tantrum about the capabilities of the car over the radio and was told that he'd forgotten the kitchen sink. Both he and Vettel struggled with gearbox issues but it was fatal for Seb.
In the end Verstappen was "very happy" about his race win. Driver of the day, which is awarded by a public vote, was Norris and he sounded much happier than Max. Hamilton got second place, which was an excellent recovery race with two incidents hampering him and possible being outpaced by the Red Bulls for once and he also secured fastest lap which went towards securing him first place in the championship.
Ultimately, what has the world come to when you watch the winner of a Formula 1 race being interviewed in (what I imagine to be) a rigorously Co-vid prevention scenario and think, "he's not wearing a mask"?
Going Up
👍 Norris - epic two car overtake in the wet on Lap 9, followed by a podium place
👍 Lack of crowd - you can hear the brakes, the squealing of the tires, it really adds to the race
Going Down
👎 Lack of crowd - it definitely affects atmosphere
👎 Swears - so much bleeping you can't really make out what the drivers are saying
👎 Bonno: "Not to worry" - who says "not to worry" when your driver crashes the car
👎 Gravel traps - what is the penalty for having such a big off, surely it should put some sort of dint in your race?
👎 DRS - Hamilton in a Mercedes does not need DRS to overtake, it makes it far too easy and takes the racing out of the race
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