Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix

Formula 1

Sunday, 1 September, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza following a long lead ahead of McLaren

Lando Norris took an initial lead before Oscar Piastri swept past into the second chicane later in the lap. From there, the Australian stayed out in front for much of the race.

Leclerc defied the race norm option for a one-stop move against the two-stop strategy adopted , resulting to Sainz and Lecrec's triumphant finish in latter stages of the race.

Carlos Sainz was unable to hold on given his ageing tyres, with both Piastri and Norris overtaking him to move into second and third. But Leclerc held out to grab an emotional win on Ferrari’s home soil, crossing the line 2.6s ahead of Piastri.

Norris claimed an extra point for setting the fastest lap as he took third while Sainz settled for fourth. 

Lewis Hamilton closed fifth in what was his last race at the Italian Grand Prix before switching to Ferrari next year. 

Max Verstappen placed in sixth, the Dutchman gaining one position from his original grid slot. The Red Bull managed to stay ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh, while Sergio Perez added three points to Red Bull’s tally in eighth.

Williams's as Alex Albon clinched two valuable points in P9, and Kevin Magnussen was 10th in the Haas on what was an eventful day for the team, with both of their drivers having received time penalties for separate incidents.

Fernando Alonso just missed out on the top-10 in P11 for Aston Martin, and Franco Colapinto crossed the line on his F1 debut in P12 for Williams. It was P13 for Daniel Ricciardo, the RB driver having received two penalties in the early stages of the race.

Esteban Ocon was the lead Alpine in 14th, putting him ahead of team mate Pierre Gasly in 15th, and Valtteri Bottas followed for Kick Sauber in 16th place.

Nico Hulkenberg ended the day down in P17 for Haas, while Zhou Guanyu was 18th for Kick Sauber and Lance Stroll was the last classified runner for Aston Martin in P19.

Yuki Tsunoda was the sole retiree from the race, having retired his RB following a collision with Hulkenberg.