Italian GP Race Report: You couldn't write this.
You couldn't write what just happened at the temple of speed, in Italy. Fortunately, and remarkably, what happened in Monza wasn't fiction. It was beautiful, enthralling and Formula One at its very best.
The weekend began with the sad yet understandable news that the Williams family would relinquish the leadership of their Formula One team. A team founded upon a passion for racing, Williams have succeeded much with relatively little over the years. With Nigel Mansell, Alan Jones and even Juan Pablo Montoya, just to name a few,, Williams have summited the heights of F1 and will never be forgotten.
As a family-owned team, Frank Williams and his people represent not just the spirit of racers, but of underdogs who conquered the world more than a few times. As Frank and Claire step down as team principals, we thank them for what they have given the sport and hope that the Williams team adds more to the immense legacy that the family leaves behind.
“Given the Williams team's latest chapter coming to an end, it would be fitting if David beat Goliath when the chequered flag fell on Sunday.”
Given the Williams team's latest chapter coming to an end, it would be fitting if David beat Goliath when the chequered flag fell on Sunday. Step forward, Pierre Gasly. I spoke, last week, of Gasly's undulating journey since joining Formula One. This weekend was arguably the highest point that he has reached.
A stunning rookie year saw Pierre promoted from the B team, Toro Rosso, to Red Bull. However, a year of struggling to get to grips with the car alongside Dutch star, Max Verstappen, saw Gasly dropped back to the B Team. This low point coincided with the loss of his best friend, Anthoine Hubert - a double blow that would see most people out for the count. Not Pierre. He would fight back, securing his first podium in Brazil, last year. When 2020 got going again, Pierre has shown himself to be arguably one of the top three drivers of the season so far - I would put him on the same level as Hamilton and Verstappen. Then the Italian Grand Prix asked him whether he fancied taking his first ever Grand Prix victory. Did Pierre take the opportunity? You bet he did.
“…isn't it refreshing to see McLaren back at the sharp end of the field? “
A classic race as a classic track saw a podium of Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz Jr and Lance Stroll. Formula One doesn't always deliver races like these, but when it does, there is more than enough to go around. This sort of race is why we love F1. But how did it happen?
Following qualifying, we started with a top three of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and, excitingly, Carlos Sainz. Mercedes and McLaren were clearly the quickest two cars this weekend - isn't it refreshing to see McLaren back at the sharp end of the field?
When the lights went out, Hamilton led, with Sainz taking second at the first corner. The two of them would pull away from the rest of the field, while in contrast, Bottas fell down the order in a first lap to forget. From there, the problem Valtteri had was that the Mercedes set up was optimised for leading the race, not following other cars. As a result, the engine was overheating. Despite this, Bottas was more than conservative in fighting back, and ultimately didn’t, finishing fifth.
Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly started tenth. In the middle of the pack, he was struggling to get going, and so headed to the pit lane early to change his tyres. Soon after, a safety car was called out as Marshall's recovered the broken Haas of Kevin Magnussen. Nine times out of ten, this would be a disaster for Gasly, however, not this time. The placement of Magnussen's car meant that the pit lane was closed, so drivers that wanted to save time and pit during the safety car period were not allowed. When the rest of the drivers finally could pit, the pack had bunched up, and Gasly would fly up the order to third.
The unusual scenario of the pit lane being closed caught out Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, who pitted. Antonio Giovinazzi would also make this mistake. The penalty for both drivers was a ten-second stop-go penalty, which would lose them track position and thirty seconds - a punishment that demonstrates the importance of attention to detail. Who's fault was it? I would argue that blame lies more with the team than Hamilton - they have more information at their disposal than him. Nonetheless, Hamilton is still part of that team and will learn from it just as much as Mercedes.
When the safety car peeled away, Charles Leclerc compounded a dire home race for Ferrari with a high-speed crash at Parabolica - thankfully, he escaped unharmed. A red flag was required to stop the race while the marshals repaired the barrier. The reg flag would be significant because rather than a rolling restart, the cars would form on the grid to begin the next half of the race. Hamilton led away before heading straight to the pit lane to serve his penalty. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll, who had gained places thanks to not pitting under the safety car, had a poor getaway from the grid and was overtaken by Pierre Gasly and, eventually, Carlos Sainz for what would become first and second position. Gasly then pulled out a slender lead over Sainz, one which slowly decreased towards the end of the race, creating a tense end to an already crazy race.
“A good recovery, especially given that he only finished ten seconds behind Bottas, despite losing thirty in the pit lane.”
Twenty-three seconds behind the back of the field, Lewis Hamilton was driving pretty quickly, to say the least. With fastest lap followed by fastest lap, the Briton arrived at his first target, Alex Albon - yes a Red Bull in last, surprisingly soon. He would then suffer the same issues as Bottas, struggling to overtake people immediately. Nevertheless, Hamilton eventually fought back to seventh, with an extra point for the fastest lap of the race. A good recovery, especially given that he only finished ten seconds behind Bottas, despite losing thirty in the pit lane. This was a race that the Fin should have won, getting him back in the title fight on a rare off-day for Hamilton. However, once again he left performance on the table. Bottas adds stability to Mercedes, but he surely can't tread water forever as he sits in the most enviable seat in Formula One.
“For me, Pierre has been up there with Hamilton and Verstappen as drivers of the year so far.”
Back in the positions where it matters, Carlos Sainz was breathing down Gasly's neck. His engineer, Tom Stallard, tried to calm the Spaniard down on the radio, but the Sainz family's winning mentality shone through in response - "I want this win, Tom". He drove brilliantly all weekend but would trail Gasly by four tenths of a second over the finish line. McLaren had a great weekend and are now up to third in the Constructor's Championship.
Sainz came close, but Gasly and Alpha Tauri prevailed and very much deserved it. All season Pierre has been performing to a high level in some average machinery. For me, Pierre has been up there with Hamilton and Verstappen as drivers of the year so far. Now that Pierre has taken his first victory in Formula One, he has cemented this position as one of, if not, the best this year.
“As the first French winner since 1996, Pierre received a phone call from President Macron himself.”
I had predicted that Pierre Gasly would move to Renault. This move seems somewhat unlikely now. Firstly, the Renault team's name is to become Alpine next year. Secondly, Red Bull are in a challenging position regarding Pierre. Usually, they would swap him with Albon. However, they have tried Pierre in the top team already and want to give Albon more support than they did with Pierre.
Nevertheless, there is a real possibility of Gasly beating Albon in the championship this year. If that does happen, I would wonder what Gasly has to do to return to the A-Team. I can see Gasly at Mercedes in place of Bottas as a potentially successful yet unlikely move.
So maybe it'll be Alpine that Gasly joins, and I'll be right after all (still Renault). As the first French winner since 1996, Pierre received a phone call from President Macron himself. Let's not rush to conclusions, but Renault is 43% state-owned, so maybe Macron feels similarly to me. Future predictions aside, moments like these cannot be understated. Pierre Gasly didn't just win for himself or his team, but his country and Formula One as a whole.
As I said, you couldn't write this, but at the same time, you couldn't wish it for a more likeable guy. Gran Premio d'Italia 2020, grazie mille et Pierre Gasly, bravo légende!