(AFP) – Monza, Italy On Sunday, Max Verstappen was certain he would lose the Formula One title when Charles Leclerc, a Monegasque driver, won the Italian Grand Prix with such skill that it sent a ripple of happiness through the Ferrari fanbase at Monza.
Three key takeaways from Sunday’s exciting race at the Autodromo Nazionale are examined by AFP Sport:
Verstappen facing difficulties
Verstappen had another terrible weekend and was furious with the condition of his Red Bull vehicle after finishing almost 38 seconds behind Leclerc and never appearing to have a chance to win his eighth Grand Prix of the year.
The Dutchman had a difficult weekend and seemed dejected during Sunday’s race, openly expressing his disappointment at the way his vehicle performed and claiming he didn’t think he would win the title again.
“We had the most dominant car ever last year, which was a wonderful car. And we essentially created a monster out of it,” Verstappen said to reporters.
Although Verstappen is swiftly going in the wrong direction, he still leads Lando Norris by 62 points in the drivers’ standings.
If McLaren hadn’t told Oscar Piastri to stop competing against his teammate Norris, who finished third from pole position, his gap most likely would have been significantly less.
It’s a significant change from both earlier in the season, when he won seven of the first ten Grand Prix, and from last year, when he easily cruised to his third consecutive world title in an almost robotic manner.
McLaren lost out on this chance
Having worked tirelessly to create the greatest car in the field, McLaren should be favourites to win the constructors’ title, with only eight points separating them from Red Bull.
However, Piastri’s bold early pass of Norris surprised a squad that had a fantastic chance to finish one-two in both qualifying and the race. Both of its drivers were on the front row of the starting grid on Sunday.
In spite of Norris’s statement before the race that he is not in Formula One “just to beg for someone to let me pass,” the British driver appeared to be very disappointed that McLaren had not told Piastri, who is currently 106 points behind Verstappen, to give up.
“When you’re fighting for a championship you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can, the best way simply is just to win the race and I didn’t do that today.”
Leclerc advises Ferrari to proceed with care.
After witnessing the Monegasque perform almost flawlessly, thousands of ecstatic Ferrari supporters poured onto the Monza circuit, showering Leclerc with praise.
After triumphing at Monte Carlo in May, the 26-year-old had every right to be at the top of the world after winning Ferrari’s home race.
But after holding out on hard tires from lap 16 to the checkered flag, he tried right away to temper expectations of more daring acts of daring.
“We’ve got to be cautious because after Monaco I think we had the four worst races of the season,” Leclerc stated.
“Our car was quite specific to Monaco at the time, and Monza is a very specific track… Although we’ve made progress toward McLaren, I don’t think it’s sufficient to make it the team to beat for the remainder of the season.”
Red Bull is now 39 points behind the lead held by Ferrari, who haven’t won a constructors’ title since 2008. Leclerc is 87 points behind Verstappen.