MONZA, Italy — Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari a rare win at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, much to the home fans’ delight, as the team’s bold one-stop strategy paid off on Sunday.
Ferrari, which had brought nine upgrades to its home race, was one of the teams to choose to only pit once.
And that proved the right decision for Leclerc, who despite heavily degrading tires, managed to hold off Oscar Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
As it became obvious what was on the cards, the passionate, red-clad tifosi got on their feet, stamping and roaring Leclerc’s every lap, and they went wild when he crossed the line 2.664 seconds ahead of Piastri.
Polesitter Norris finished 6.153 behind Leclerc to trim the gap to 62 points to championship leader Max Verstappen, who was sixth in his Red Bull
Leclerc had also won in 2019, making this Ferrari’s second win on its home track in the past 14 races.
Before Sunday’s triumph, the Italian Scuderia had managed only a second for Leclerc in 2022 and a third by Sainz last year since that 2019 victory.
It was Leclerc’s second win of the season. His first was equally as special as it came at his home track in Monaco.
Leclerc started fourth at Monza, with the McLaren duo locking out the front of the grid.
With Norris chasing the title, there were questions over whether team orders would come into play.
That was swiftly answered. Both McLarens got a good start – unusually for them – but Piastri managed to get a slipstream and overtake his teammate into the second chicane, with Norris slipping into third as Leclerc also managed to get past.