No points for either of the season leaders as McLaren claims its first title in nearly a decade.
MONZA, Italy—It was likely that ‘it’ would happen—first, at Silverstone, today at this temple of speed, the Italian Grand Prix. Chasing a world championship. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen came together at the first chicane, lap 26, collided, and eventually retired. And the drivers had different explanations of what happened.
Max Verstappen: “People will start to talk about Silverstone [when they also crashed], but I didn’t expect him to keep on squeezing and squeezing because we still would’ve had a car’s width out of Turn Two. I don’t know why he kept pushing wider and wider.”
Lewis Hamilton: “It’s exactly the same scenario that happened at turn four (earlier in the race), where I was in the same position as Max (Verstappen), and I gave way. That’s racing. This time, he didn’t want to give way.”
At day’s end, the big winner was the McLaren team. Daniel Ricciardo finished first, the eighth victory of his career, with Lando Norris crossing the finish line right behind him. It was the first time since Brazil in 2012 that McLaren has won a race.
Of course, Ricciardo was ecstatic with the outcome: “I was able to hold firm out front. I don’t think we had mega speed, but it was enough to keep Max (Verstappen) behind. To lead, literally, from start to finish, I don’t think any of us expected that. There was something in me on Friday. I knew something was good was going to come. I have just been sandbagging the whole year! Third, fourth, fifth – you might as well win! That’s what I did. The August break was good just to reset. For McLaren to be on the podium is good, but a one-two? This is for team papaya.”
Ricciardo knew he needed a good start from Verstappen, who had a pole, and the Australian got his wish, taking the lead down through the first corner and commanding the lead for the first 23 laps before pitting for the first and only time in the 53-lap race. Norris managed to close to the lead late in the race but was then ordered to stand fast and hold back. Ricciardo increased his lead and ended up winning the race over his teammate by 1.7 seconds.
Norris was also pleased with the outcome. “It’s been four years since I joined the team,” he said. “We’ve been working towards this, and we got a one-two finally!”
But the outcome today involved more than McLaren’s team strategy and their drivers’ acumen. As Ricciardo pitted, Verstappen led for one lap before the Dutchman did the same. Hamilton took the lead for the first time on lap 24. Verstappen’s Red Bull team was slower, Hamilton’s team was faster, and Hamilton emerged from the pits in seventh, only to encounter a determined Verstappen in eighth right next to him. As both drivers approached the first chicane, Hamilton pushed Verstappen a little to the left, and Verstappen ran over a bump known as a “Sausage Curve.” The move lifted the Red Bull into the air, striking the roll hoop and touching the halo of Hamilton’s car.
Both cars slid off the track and into the gravel, where they rested. The safety car was deployed immediately, and many drivers that had not yet pitted did so. The safety period lasted for five laps before the race would be resumed.
Hamiton’s Mercedes partner Valtteri Bottas, who finished third on this day, did not see the incident but was glad to achieve his goal–to stand on the podium. “I told the team I was going to be on the podium today,” Bottas said, “And I’m glad we got more points than Red Bull today, (but) it was a shame (the crash) between Max and Lewis.”
As for the other drivers and teams, the Italian crowd was delighted to watch Ferrari finish fourth (Charles Leclerc) and sixth (Carlos Sainz Jr.). Red Bull’s Sergio Perez originally finished in third but was demoted with a five-second penalty for going off the road and not giving the position back to Bottas quickly enough when the Finn challenged him. That penalty pushed the Mexican down to fifth. Alpine finished double points with Fernando Alonso eighth and Esteban Ocon tenth. Lance Stroll was seventh in his Aston Martin, while ninth went to Williams’ George Russell.
On the flip side of performance, Alpha Tauri had a horrible afternoon. Yuki Tsunoda never even began the race, citing bake issues, and his teammate–and last year’s winner, Pierre Gasly–retired after five laps.
The virtual safety car came out twice during the race, first, on the opening lap, when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz touched the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi, spinning the Italian into the gravel. Giovinazzi continued, returning to the pits for a replacement front wing. Later, Haas driver Nikita Mazepin pulled his car over on lap 44 at Variante Alta, which brought out the second virtual car.
Having completed three races on consecutive weekends, the crews will take a break until the weekend of September 24th, when they’ll race in Sochi at the Russian Grand Prix. Going into the break, Verstappen remains five points ahead of Hamilton, with eight races remaining in the 2021 season.
what a race- i nearly fell out of my chair when max and lewis went into the gravel. Loved seeing the orange go 1-2. I am not sure there’s another driver in the sport other than Lando who would ask his team to do what is best for them and willingly sit back in 2nd.