The race started with a bananas grid, McLaren scored the second row and Williams were 8th and 10th. It's always tempting to get your hopes up at races like this. It was LeClerc's to lose though, with Verstappen starting in 7th and both rear gunners at the back of the pack with Lewis Hamilton. Would Russell, starting 2nd, break his duck? Norris went nowhere off the grid and caused the pack to have to move to avoid him. It made a messy start, with LeClerc hearing the crowd roar as he kept his lead, Russell going off the track to secure the Ferrari in place and Ricciardo taking a confident 3rd. Gasly was up to 4th, showing his dance card for the silly season recruiters. Two laps in though Verstappen was in 3rd and on to the podium. De Vries held his 8th place, with Williams team mate Latifi sinking to 14th. By 5 laps in, Verstappen had overtaken Russell for 2nd. Sainz was making excellent progress through the field to save his team mate from the Dutchman's clutches, whilst Perez just couldn't overtake the "slower" cars. Hamilton had some incident at the start and couldn't get past 18th for a long time. Perez was pitted and given a catherine wheel, which smoked it's way around the track.
Ricciardo held up the pack well and was in position to pick up a podium place if anyone Ferraried up at the front. De Vries found himself in no position to overtake anyone in front of him, just needing to hold up everyone behind him.
Former Ferrari driver, Vettel, in his last Italian race, lost power and pulled off to the side of the track, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Ferrari brought in LeClerc for a "free" stop and came out in 3rd ahead of Ricciardo. The mechanics swarmed around the car like panicky wasps, in their celebratory yellow and black uniform.
The next round of pit stops shook things up more, with some teams winning and some losing. Ricciardo and Gasly were battling on track, then Alpha Tauri did a poor stop and gave McLaren the place.
Alonso came in and was retired. Was it the curse of the World Champion? Or the curse of the former Ferrari drivers?
LeClerc continued to manage Ferrari's strategy from his cockpit as radio transmission was all about Plan B, Plan C and Plan D. He's a busy man: lead driver, chief strategist, PR.
Stroll was retired in his Aston Martin. Monza was putting drivers and their vehicles under pressure. With 6 laps to go, Ricciardo's engine failed and last year's race winner was out and the Safety Car made an appearance. His victory last year was a highlight of the season, this year his retirement saw a sour end to the race under the Safety Car. Where the FIA trying to prove that they can handle these technically-tricky situations? But only in Verstappen's favour. The crowd, rightly, booed. De Vries finished 9th and brought home some points for Williams. I wonder whether the money this brings Williams will be more than Latifi brings in as a pay driver? He also made Driver of the Day.
Ferrari told LeClerc he had raced well and managed the tyres well in a dejected tone. I think they are starting to get scared about what LeClerc will say and do to the media and back behind closed doors.
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