It was still hot and sunny in Monza on race day. Verstappen's pole had earnt him an hour in the glow of the public but all attention was now back on the Ferrari drivers. Hadjar and Gasly would be starting from the pit lane after changing their power units; I miss them being called engines. Alonso and Stroll would both be investigated after the race for pit lane practice start infringements.
Apparently, the shade of red on the Ferrari for this race was different as it was commemorating Lauda's championship win. I would not have known had I been told. From the helicopter shots, it looked like the old pink Force Indias.
A couple of drivers were promoted on the grid as Hulkenberg was called to bring in his Sauber to the pits to retire. Off the start, Verstappen got away well as did Norris but of course the McLaren driver put it on to the grass and slowed himself right down. Verstappen cut the corner. Norris maintained that Verstappen pushed him off. LeClerc was in everyone's slipstream and Piastri managed to stay out of trouble. In third and fourth place the two drivers battled.
Bortoleto and Tsunoda also went off the track. To avoid the stewards intervening at the front, Verstappen moved over for his friend. Third and fourth positions went back and forth. On lap four, Verstappen took Norris for the lead again into that first corner, having DRS down the starting straight. Norris couldn't fight too hard as he was fighting for the championship.
On lap six, Piastri overtook LeClerc for third and was able to go after Norris. Further down the running order, by lap twelve Ocon had been awarded two penalties for forcing other drivers off the track. Drivers were going off the track left, right and centre. Sainz went the wrong way around the bollards and Norris went over the harsh curb and into the gravel.
Half way through, the Williams were asked to swap places. A bad race for Sainz. And for his fellow Spaniard, Alonso broke his own suspension on the car going over the curb. It seemed like drivers were going to push how long they could stay out on their initial set of tyres. Verstappen's were blistering and could potentially be dangerous.
Things went from bad to worse for Sainz as Bearman tagged him into a corner. It looked dicey for a second as both drivers were stopped across the track but got going just in time to pull off. The Haas was given a time penalty.
Meanwhile, Norris chose to have the second stop but the front left gun wasn't working by the time he came in so McLaren handed second place to his main championship competitor. Piastri was asked to give the place back.
On the last lap, Antonelli was given a time penalty for driving erratically which must be the vaguest to be given yet. This wasn't enough to give Sainz 10th place though. In the end it was a clear win for Verstappen, with Norris taking second and the fastest lap and Piastri in third. Behind them was LeClerc, Russell, Hamilton, Albon, Bortoleto, Antonelli and Hadjar. It was a good recovery drive for the Racing Bull and disappointing for Red Bull for Tsunoda to finish outside the points in 13th. There was no podium for Ferrari, as the cars drove side-by-side back to parc ferme. LeClerc put in a big speech in Italian over the radio, which he must have known Hamilton couldn't match.
It was hard to tell if the Tifosi were booing the McLaren drivers on the podium. Nobody seemed to mind much Verstappen returning to form. If he can break things up between the McLarens, it gives Norris more of a chance and makes the weekends more interesting.
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