F1 Italian GP: Verstappen invades the ‘Temple of Speed’

This is a reality check. It’s final. That’s what Ferrari experienced in his own home. Verstappen slipped into the Scuderia’s garden, popped open a bottle of Champagne and began to celebrate a title he would achieve in a few races after winning the 2022 F1 Italian GP. All of Italy understood the moral. No matter how much heart, faith and enthusiasm they put into their team, it’s not enough. It is necessary to improve. be perfect This time, the Ferrari stops well, but another mainstay fails: speed and destruction.

ITALIAN GP FINAL CLASSIFICATION OF F1 2022

Monza went from screaming with joy at Charles Leclerc’s pole position on Saturday and from dreaming the impossible, sincerely believing they could beat the mighty Max Verstappen at home, to being speechless. Ferrari, already far behind Red Bull and Verstappen in two World Championships, has only one dream left: to win at home and give joy to the tifosi. But even that’s not it. Max Verstappen and Red Bull are not leaving even the crumbs behind. They like everything. Ferrari has been on the canvas since defeating Hungary, but Max and his team, born predators, went for the KO with 6 rounds to go to the World Cup. They gave him the hardest blow you can give a team: beat him at home, when hope was rekindled.

Ferrari tried everything on Leclerc, but it was to row against the current, with the water carrying his boat towards the cliff. Nothing to do. Max Verstappen was far ahead of Ferrari in Hungary, Spa and Zandvoort. At Monza they warned on Friday at a devastating race pace. And in 5 suspension positions, even starting from the 7th, Max prevailed without complications for the simple reason; your car takes better care of the tires. His small breakdown, much less than Ferrari’s, tipped the balance in favor of a Verstappen who added his fifth straight victory, his 11th in 16 races. Max sang ‘checkmate’ and the thousands of pre-race tifosi lit their red flares and didn’t stop cheering for Leclerc, could only sit back and enjoy the perfect partnership between Red Bull and the Dutch driver.

Leclerc tried from the start, to defend his pole position against an aggressive attack in the first corner. Leclerc kept the first position and Ferrari fans dreamed of a miracle. They saw it as much as possible. Soon, however, a Virtual Safety was taken advantage of on lap 5 to put the medium tire on. This forced him to go to two stops and left a Max who quickly came back from the 7th starting position with a free track to print his speed and finish the race from the start. His first stint was incredible. 25 turn the soft rubber at a blistering speed. When Leclerc stopped again, he was 19” behind Verstappen with 19 laps to go. Yes, he had new tires, but his rival continued his work without cracks or signs of weakness.

To make matters worse, a virtual ‘Safety Car’ in the final laps gave hope to the ‘tifosi’. Daniel Ricciardo’s car stopped in the middle of the track and the operators struggled to get the car out of it. The fans are dreaming again. Max and Charles stopped and both could play for the final victory in the sprint stuck by the ‘Safety Car’. But finally, it took too long to get that car out and, without the safety car on the track, they announced that the race would end after the ‘Safety Car’. Fans weren’t the only ones who lost the option to see the movie’s ending. Otherwise, they saw the race finish in one of the worst ways, without emotion or spectacle, behind the safety car. The public whistles and boos in the direction of the race. Leclerc broke down in tears on the radio. It could be a massive show with a relaunch twist. But there is no time for more. However, the truth is that Max is the fairest winner. There is ‘Salvation’ or there is not.

Sainz, 4th, great comeback

Carlos Sainz made a great comeback from 18th starting position. The simulations of his engineers marked him with a goal of 5th position, but Carlos was not enough and went for more. He showed it with his tremendous overtaking speed. By lap 13 he was already 4th, gaining 15 positions with good speed. He tried to extend his first stop, but that approach was not enough for a Russell who continued to show his immense talent and perseverance at Mercedes, adding his sixth podium of the season.

In fifth position finished Hamilton, who also calved from the back, and Pérez 6th. Norris, Gasly, de Vries and Zhou rounded out the Top-10. Special mention must go to De Vries’ 9th, in his first F1 race after being called up to replace Albon with appendicitis since Saturday.

For his part, Fernando Alonso had to retire on lap 32 due to another mechanical failure in his Alpine when he was regularly riding in the points. He wanted to score points for an 11th consecutive race, but was left without that prize at his former home.