Pierre Gasly Wins Crazy Monza Show
UNORTHODOX PODIUM FINISH
Pierre Gasly (24) with Alpha Tauri won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix on Monza with 0.415 seconds gap to second place Carlos Sainz for McLaren. Lance Stroll with Racing Point finished 3rd, which completed the podium group of drivers. Despite Ferrari’s and Alfa’s problems, another Italian team went on to win their home Grand Prix. Alpha Tauri (formerly known as Torro Rosso) won their first and only race in 2008 when Sebastian Vettel clinched both his first career podium and race victory. Also, Pierre Gasly became the first French driver to win a Formula One race since Olivier Panis’ Monaco victory in 1996.
CRAZY MIDFIELD RIVALRY
Despite Valtteri Bottas’ attempts to pass, Lando Norris managed to secure the 4th place for McLaren. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo finished in P6, ahead of Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes. Lewis, who started from the pole position, was handed a 10-seconds stop/go penalty on lap 17 for entering the pit lane while it was officially closed. The pit entry was closed due to Kevin Magnussen’s vacant Haas, which encountered a mechanical failure right in that same zone. Both Hamilton and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi were handed the same penalty, following their illegal pitstops during the second safety car of the race. Giovinazzi finished last today in P16.
Esteban Ocon with Renault finished 8th, ahead of Daniil Kvyat for Alpha Tauri. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was the last of the drivers to finish in the points today. Nicholas Latifi with Williams finished 11th, while Romain Grosjean with Haas and Kimi Raikkonen finished 12th and 13th, respectively. Kimi found himself in 3rd for a short period of time at the restart of the race, however, the poor overall performance of his Alfa Romeo denied him a points’ finish once again this season. George Russell came in 14th for Williams.
DISASTER FOR RED BULL AND FERRARI
Max Verstappen retired from the race just several laps after its restart. Nevertheless, the young Dutch driver was not able to find the right setup of his Red Bull throughout the entire weekend in Monza, and probably would not have been satisfied with his performance today even if he finished the race. His teammate Alex Albon failed to take his car into the points, as well. Albon received a penalty for dangerously blocking Romain Grosjean’s passing attempt, which ultimately dragged him down to 15th place.
On lap 6, Sebastian Vettel had to park his Ferrari in the garage, following severe brake overheating problems. Charles Leclerc finished off Ferrari’s disastrous experience in Italy with a heavy crash in Parabolica corner, which triggered a safety car on lap 23, and ultimately led to red-flagging the session. Nevertheless, the young Monegasque walked away from the wreck unharmed, which was good news for the Tifosi and everyone watching that race.
You can access the complete race results by clicking on this LINK.
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