A dramatic crash between title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen that took both drivers out of the race cleared the way for Daniel Ricciardo to claim a sensational victory in the 2021 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, giving McLaren their first race win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix – and a one-two to boot, as he led home teammate Lando Norris, with Valtteri Bottas taking third, in a thrilling race at Monza.
Click here to subscribe to our print edition!
Hamilton was exiting the pits on Lap 26 of 53 when he arrived alongside Verstappen, the pair going side by side through the Variante del Rettifilo, but making contact, with Verstappen flying through the air and coming to rest on top of the Mercedes. Both drivers were unhurt, but out of the race, with the stewards set to investigate after the 2021 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was a deserving winner, however, having passed Verstappen for the lead at the race start from P2 on the grid, before Verstappen and Hamilton’s clash cleared the way for him to control the race to sweep home to an eighth career victory. Lando Norris secured his best ever race finish with P2, having been told to hold station behind his teammate in the final moments of the Grand Prix.
We’re an international sport so everyone has been aware of some of the struggles I’ve had this year. I think to come back from that, not only to win but as a team to get a one-two… I don’t know. It’s crazy. I think after Friday… even before Friday, but I knew after Friday that we had something this weekend.
Having started P19, Bottas claimed third, finishing fourth on the road behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, before Perez had a five-second penalty added to his time for passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc off the track.
Perez would eventually be classified fifth behind Leclerc, while Carlos Sainz took sixth on his first ever outing for Ferrari at Monza. Lance Stroll was seventh for Aston Martin – but under investigation for a yellow flag infraction – with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso eighth, ahead of the Williams of George Russell in ninth as the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon completed the top 10.
So, a huge moment for Ricciardo, Norris and McLaren – with Ricciardo also claiming a point for fastest lap on the final tour. But the ramifications of Hamilton and Verstappen’s crash are sure to be a major talking point this evening.
Mario Isola – Head of F1 and car racing at Pirelli commented:
Both McLaren drivers used the same medium to hard strategy that was adopted by the majority of the field at the 2021 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, but Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes also showed what was possible with the opposite strategy. The performance of the hard tyre here was underlined by the fact that Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap on the final lap, having managed the race perfectly since the restart. Today’s warm weather certainly favoured the hard and medium compounds, which both showed minimal degradation, while at the opposite end of the spectrum, it was a bit too warm for the soft to show its speed advantage.
2021 Formula 1 Italian GP Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Country | Team | Time | Points | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Australia | McLaren Racing | 1:21:54.365 | 26 | 83 |
| 2. | 4 | Lando Norris | Great Britain | Mclaren Racing | +1.747s | 18 | 132 |
| 3. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +4.921s | 15 | 141 |
| 4. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | +7.309s | 12 | 104 |
| 5. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Red Bull Racing Honda | +8.723s | 10 | 118 |
| 6. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | +10.535s | 8 | 97.5 |
| 7. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Team | +15.804s | 6 | 24 |
| 8. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Alpine F1 Team | +17.201s | 4 | 50 |
| 9. | 63 | George Russell | Great Britain | Williams Racing | +19.742s | 2 | 15 |
| 10. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Team | +20.868s | 1 | 45 |
| 11. | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Canada | Williams Racing | +23.743s | 0 | 7 |
| 12. | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Germany | Aston Martin F1 Team | +24.621s | 0 | 35 |
| 13. | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Italy | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +27.216s | 0 | 1 |
| 15. | 88 | Robert Kubica | Poland | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +29.769s | 0 | 0 |
| 15. | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Germany | Haas F1 Team | +51.088s | 0 | 0 |
| 16. | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Russia | Haas F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 0 |
| 17. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | DNF | 0 | 221.5 |
| 1. | 33 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Red Bull Racing | DNF | 0 | 224.5 |
| 4. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Scuderia AlphaTauri | DNF | 0 | 66 |
| 15. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Scuderia AlphaTauri | DNF | 0 | 18 |
Here are the team-by-team highlights:
The post 2021 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix highlights appeared first on Paddock Magazine.