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Pierre Gasley with the Alpha Tauri won the Italian Grand Prix, the eighth round of the Formula One season. The French driver surprisingly triumphed on the legendary Monza track in a start marked by a series of dramatic events.
Carlos Sainz finished with McLaren just 4 tenths of a second behind. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll finished third on the podium.
The victory is Gasley’s first in Formula 1 and only the second in the history of “Alpha Tauri” (the second team of “Red Bull”), which was previously called “Toro Rosso”. The team’s previous success was in 2008, at Monza, when it beat Sebastian Vettel.
The race at the Temple of Speed, as the Italian track is known, was marked by the fact that for the first time since the start of the season, “Mercedes” failed to place its driver on the podium. Valteri Botas finished fifth and Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Löckler, who performed poorly in qualifying, were eliminated in the race.
Hamilton received a penalty in the race as well as a temporary suspension due to a red foil.
“It was a tremendous race, I don’t know what to say. We managed to get a result with the red flags. Since I was a child I dreamed of winning at Monza, it is a very difficult track,” Gasley said after the final.
Also in the top 10 were Daniel Ricardo and Esteban Ocon with Renault, Daniel Quiat with Alpha Tauri’s second car and Sergio Pérez (Racing Point). Max Verstappen failed to score.
Boots had problems even before the start, as when he left the area he lost control of his car and went through the chicanes. After the start, the Finn could not stay close to Hamilton and was overtaken by McLaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, after which he sank to sixth place.
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On the eighth lap, Sebastian Vettel became the first to leave. An element of his rear wing detached, after which the German could not control his car and returned to the pits.
Charles Leclerc was the first to pit on lap 18, but only three minutes later Kevin Magnussen was eliminated with “Haas”. This led to a safety car on the track, and leader Hamilton immediately got in to change his tires. However, no one else reacted, and later the stewards announced that they were investigating the entry of the world champion because boxing was closed.
Everyone else pitted on lap 23, and in the next round Charles Löckler lost control of his car at the “Parabolica” corner and crashed into the protective walls. This caused a red flag and the race was stopped.
Immediately afterwards, the commissioners announced that Hamilton had been punished by entering the area and remaining 10 seconds. On the restart, Hamilton served his penalty and returned to the tail of the group. He managed to make the fastest lap and get back into the points area, but there was no chance for more.
In the lead, Gasley managed to contain Sainz’s attacks, although on the last lap the two were separated by less than a second.
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After eight races, Hamilton is still the championship leader with 164 points, and second is Boots with an asset of 117. Third is Vestapen with 110.
The next start is in a week: the Tuscan Grand Prix on the “Mugello” track, which will make its Formula 1 debut.
