Clamorous accident with the duelists for the World Championship as protagonists, after the race controversy and poisons Norris completes the McLaren double, Ferrari remains at the foot of the podium with the fourth place of Leclerc
monza
Between the two quarrels, McLaren enjoys. Lap 27, the decisive moment that will cause discussion for a long time: Hamilton and Verstappen do not lift their foot when the Englishman returns from the pit stop and collide at the First Variant in a modern and flying reinterpretation of the Senna-Prost accident: their race ends without points but with a back and forth to vitriol. So Ricciardo and Norris have free rein to parade under the checkered flag waved by the king of speed Marcell Jacobs, resisting the furious comeback of Bottas, who started from the last position and author of 16 overtakes.
The Ferraris, in front of president John Elkann, close to the podium, despite an engine not up to par with the competition: Leclerc finishes fourth, thanks to Perez’s five-second penalty, and defines the race as “among the best” of his career; Sainz is sixth but feels “a little frustrated” for a missed opportunity. But the attention is all on the Verstappen-Hamilton quarrel, which is certainly not sent to say. «Opportunist, you knew it would end like this», the Englishman’s j’accuse. «I correct, you pushed me out», the piqued answer of the Dutch, still leader of the World Cup. What is certain is that the Englishman remained unharmed in the accident thanks to the halo, the protection for the driver’s seat introduced by the FIA 4 years ago after the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. But McLaren’s triumph remains well deserved. “It’s a crazy shotgun, it was time.” Ricciardo can’t contain his joy and even a dirty word escapes him to celebrate the first success for the team since 2012. The Australian didn’t climb the top step since Monaco 2018 when he celebrated by throwing himself dressed in a swimming pool. A fast interrupted thanks to the horses of the Mercedes Power Unit that strikes Verstappen from the start and makes him impregnable on the long straights of Monza. “I missed this feeling more than you can imagine – Ricciardo’s words, in Italian to underline his origins -. It is my most important achievement. In the most difficult year of my career, having won like this in Monza is incredible ». Ricciardo promises a sparkling evening, a party that began on the podium by drinking champagne from the shoe: «I’ll eat a pizza, then drink wine, whiskey and grappa. We have a week off anyway ».
This victory marks McLaren’s counter-overtaking of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, with a 13.5 point lead. The Rossa does not set the Autodrome on fire but gives a solid performance, especially when compared to the disaster of 2020 with the double retirement. «We made a huge step forward – says Leclerc -, this was one of the best performances of my career. We were close to the podium but we were very vulnerable against the drs ». –