2024 F1 Italian GP analysis by Peter Windsor

If all Ferrari victories at Monza are special, this one was a gem: defying all odds, Charles Leclerc nursed his hard-compound Pirellis through the second half of the race to beat the faster, two-stopping McLaren-Mercedes of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and thus to secure a momentous victory. It was a victory of perfect tyre management on a day when the left-front was vulnerable to graining. It was a victory for consistent, perfect pace. It was a victory for a huge, capacity Monza crowd. It was, too, a frustrating day for McLaren, for they had had the pace to win this race. From the pole, Lando Norris dropped to third at the second chicane when his team-mate zapped him unexpectedly on the outside. Mid-race, the two McLaren drivers traded fastest lap with abandon, over-using their tyres and obliging them to stop twice. Both drivers charged hard in the closing laps - but Leclerc, by then, was out of reach. The crowed - 360,000 over three days - went wild. Peter Windsor looks back at a momentous day - at how Charles won it and at how McLaren lost it.
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Alternative race stats courtesy of Aleš Norskŷ:
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Images: Pirelli, Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Grand Prix Photo (Peter Nygaard)
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