McLaren's Masterclass at Monza

 

12 months ago we witnessed history in the making when Pierre Gasly won his first-ever Grand Prix at the Temple of Speed. And on Sunday history was rewritten as McLaren achieved their first 1-2 after 11 long-awaited years. 

Following an intense sprint qualifying that saw Lewis Hamilton lose 2 places to the McLaren duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, we knew that the world was in for an entertaining race which has seemed to be the case at Monza throughout history. With Max starting on provisional pole as Valtteri Bottas had to take grid penalties due to power unit changes, it meant that a lot of work would have to be done from the Silver Arrows to salvage as many points for the World Championship. 

A flying start off the line by the Honey Badger meant that he took the lead of the race from Verstappen. Right behind him Lewis Hamilton also got away well and pipped Norris off the line. Heading into turn 4 he was up alongside the Dutchman who pushed him off the track which meant he had to concede a position and move back into 4th where he had started. 

Fast forward 26 laps and both drivers collided resulting in both their races to be ended in a matter of seconds. 

2 months ago following the conclusion of the British Grand Prix I stated that the collision between the two title contenders at Copse corner may have been the turning point in the championship. However this weekend the dangerous crash between the 2 title protagonists once again might have just superseded the events from July at Silverstone.  

A poor 11 second stop on lap 25 from the Red Bull team meant that Mercedes had a window to bring Lewis in ahead of both Max and Lando Norris (who Lewis had overtaken the lap before on track). They took that opportunity with both hands, but a slight hiccup in their own pitstop meant that Hamilton was released right into the middle of the Norris Verstappen sandwich. The Dutchman and the Briton headed into turn 1 together but came out of turn 2 with one on top of another as Max did not yield his position or moved over the mini speedbumps which would have most definitely avoided a scary accident. Instead, he maintained an aggressive position which resulted in him running over the sausage curb and getting catapulted into the air and directly onto the top of Lewis' car. It seems that Red Bull does really give you wings. 

This crash between the title leaders has once again become a huge talking point and this time around the stewards decided that it was Max at fault who has since been handed a 3 place grid penalty which he will face in Russia in 2 weeks. While he did make the corner at turn 1, he was going far too fast into turn 2 to even make the apex. Had Lewis given him enough room he would have still ran straight into the Briton because of his poor judgement. Max's inability to yield this time around at Monza is characteristic of some bold moves that he has performed not only this season but throughout his career which have resulted in either him out of the race or taking out his rival in the process. You look at China 2017 when he basically drove into Sebastian Vettel who at the time was in the podium places, Imola when he ran Lewis wide onto the speed bumps, Spain once again where he pushed Lewis wide. In these situations, it has been clear that when Max has been the aggressor, Lewis has been responsible and yielded the position to save not only his race but the other drivers as well. This time around in Monza though, Max failed to yield by simply moving across the speed bumps which resulted in both drivers being out of the race. It draws attention to decisions in pressure moments like this along with the maturity of the driver in the car. You cannot always go into a battle assuming that the other driver will yield for you, it's simply not how racing works. 

What's more surprising was Max's radio right after the incident. "That's what you get for not giving enough space. F***ing hell" were the words that came out of his mouth - far from what many have described him as being mature. It makes it seem that if he's going to be out of the race that he will take out his title rival as well, or so some have claimed. 

Moving away from the emotions of both drivers, I feel like it is extremely important to recognise what an incredible job the halo did to protect Lewis Hamilton's life. 4 years ago had this same incident occured, Lewis would have most likely not made it out alive as Max's wheel and floor would have simply run him over. In the image below you can see the proximity of the wheel to Hamilton's helmet. It shows how important safety is in this sport especially since the tragic death of Jules Bianchi in Japan. 

Whilst this tussle continues, it should most certainly not take away from the fact that McLaren had one of the best races in their history with a new winner for their team in the form of Daniel Ricciardo. His 8th victory in Formula 1 with a new team; must be a special feeling. Taking to Instagram straight after the race he stated that he had never left as thousands across the globe cheered the man from down under back to winning ways. Credit must be given to his teammate Lando Norris for a superb driver who if he wanted could have also fought for the win but being the responsible driver that he is, he thought about the bigger picture to come home as runner up. Another extremely happy camper would have been Valtteri Bottas who made up 16 places across the race to take the final podium step after Sergio Perez was given a penalty for obtaining a lasting advantage after cutting the turn 1 chicane to overtake Charles Leclerc. He and his Ferrari teammate made the most of their package this weekend coming home in 4th and 6th however they lost out heavily to their McLaren in their intense battle for 3rd in the constructor's championship. 

It was another double points finish for Alpine and a strong 7th position for Lance Stroll however above them all is once again George Russell who makes it 3 points finishes in the last 4 races after coming home in 9th. His final year at Williams proving to be an excellent one. While smiles were on his face, it was the complete opposite at Alpha Tauri who, after a brilliant qualifying on Friday, saw both their cars retire before even a quarter of the race had completed. They were not the only ones suffering as both Haas cars had Nikita Mazepin retire as well. A lacklustre first season for the Russian driver thus far and one that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. 

It's been an intense 3 weeks and you'd have to say that coming out of the summer break it has been Red Bull on the front foot after winning in both Spa and Zandvoort. We finally have a breather before heading back to the Sochi Autodrom after what seems like an eternity. The biggest learning from this weekend was simply that if you stay away from the danger, you'll come out happier. Danny Ric's smile is a testament to that statement.