The engines will be fired up again for the 16th round of the Formula 1 world championship, which brought Italy for the last European-only race in the 2022 season. No Autodromo de Monza, known as the temple of speed, Max Verstappen was the fastest
At the beginning of the Grand Prix, it was difficult to define the starting grid. Nine drivers were penalized, either for the use of additional components in the cars, or for accumulating reprimands and not respecting the yellow flags, as was the case with Yuki Tsunoda, from Alpha Tauri, who started last.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz started from 19th and 18th respectively. Championship leader Max Verstappen also slipped down the standings and started seventh, while Charles Leclerc had the best view of all the drivers, starting from pole position.
All five traffic lights went out and the Red Bull Dutchman immediately began to climb positions. Within half a dozen laps, the world champion was already in second position, when a virtual safety car was triggered to take out Sebastian Vettel’s car, forced to retire.
With that, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari tried to go for a different strategy for the rest of the race. With less time wasted at a stop in boxesa team The Italian put medium tires on the number 16 car, having started on soft compounds. Then Max Verstappen took the opportunity to take the lead.
The Dutchman’s leadership scenario continued until it stopped at the boxes, on lap 26, where he returned to the track ten seconds behind Leclerc. The Monegasque stopped again, on lap 34, 20 seconds behind Verstappen and, on soft tyres, was trying to get closer to the lead, in a task that seemed very complicated from the moment he left the pit lane.
The race entered a phase with fewer battles, with the cars in front all at a great distance. The Monza volcano erupted when the car insurance entered the track after an abandonment of Daniel Ricciardo and the hope of an exciting finish invaded all those present in the venue and the Formula 1 fans.
However, the task of retiring McLaren’s number three car proved to be a difficult challenge for the stewards. So there was no time to race on the Italian track again and Max Verstappen crossed the finish line behind the car insurancefollowed by Charles Leclerc and George Russell, who finished, once again, at the foot of the podium.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz ended up recovering 14 places to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. One of the biggest highlights of the weekend was Nyck De Vries, who made his series debut due to Alex Albon’s appendicitis for Williams and scored two points in race one to finish ninth.
The Dutchman from Red Bull broke a technical failure and got on the podium for the first time in the mythical Monza circuit. In addition, he added his fifth consecutive victory and his 11th throughout the season, adding 335 points, 116 more in relation to Charles Leclerc. The reigning world champion is now in a position to renew his title at the next round in Singapore.
Formula 1 now enters a three-week break due to the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix. The Singapore Grand Prix will take place from September 30 to October 2, at the Marina Bay circuit, for the 17th round of the world championship.
Source: TSF
