© Getty ImagesTop Five Moments From MonzaFive amazing things we saw at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.
MonzawasagreatwaytoendtheEuropeanracesforthe2022FormulaOneseason.TheTempleofSpeeddeliveredasitalwaysdidanduntillastweekend,itwastheonlyraceonthecalendarthatMaxhadn’tstoodonthepodium.ThatallchangedonSunday,butwe’regettingaheadofourselves,let’sboildowntheItalianGrandPrixintoourfavouritemoments…
LapOne:OutOfTheWay,ComingThrough
Even though Max qualified in P2, due to taking a new ICE he was given a five-place grid penalty, so the Dutchman was starting from P7. However, that didn’t seem a challenge to Max as he was flying on the opening lap. At lights out Max was instantly past Lando Norris, whose anti-stall came on, he was then quickly past Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly to be in P4 by the end of the opening lap.
He Won In Spa! He Wins In Monza! © Getty Images
After getting to P4, it was quickly after the first chicane that Max had overtaken Daniel Ricciardo. So, in just over a lap, Max was already in a podium position and hunting down second-placed George Russell and front runner Charles Leclerc.
At the start of lap five, Russell saw the Bull pass him into turn one. At this point Max was two seconds behind Leclerc. On lap 11, Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin had to be stopped on track causing the VSC to come into play. Ferrari chose to pit Leclerc giving Max the lead. This meant that 12 laps in and Max was leading. He took full advantage of his lead and stayed out on his soft tyres for a total of 25 laps. When it came time to pit, Leclerc took P1 again, but was needing another stop. Max bided his time and was back in P1 by the end of lap 34. Max took the win – his first podium in Monza – and with it 25 championship points.
Max's First Date With The Podium In Monza© Getty Images
Checo’sRecoveryRunWasOnFire
Checo didn’t have a great start to the race, and dropped to P16. However, if there’s one thing we know about the Mexican, it’s that he will never give up. He was soon back up to his starting position of P13, but he was told to box at the end of lap seven. The Team slapped on a set of hard tyres and sent him back out (it was a stop time of just 2.1s, the fastest of the race). It was clear straight away there was a problem as there was smoke coming from his front right brake disc. Flames could be seen licking out of the brakes but Checo was told to change his brake balance to the rear in order to protect the damaged front brakes. Commentators thought he’d be back in the pits the following lap, but Checo was able to extinguish the fire, although in the process he dropped to last. Now it was time for the Bull to fight back, and boy did he!
Once he’s car was back to full working order, he started climbing back up the rankings. He put 35 laps on his hard tyres and had moved up from P20 all the way up to P5. He finished the race in P6 which showed brilliant resilience to the early problems.
Sunday Funday In Monza© Getty Images
After his epic stint on his hard tyres, Checo was called into the pits again at the end of lap 42. The Team put on a set of sticky soft tyres to give him a chance to claim the fastest lap and on lap 46 he powered round the track in a time of 1:24.030 which was enough for him to claim the extra point.
Team Checo Smashing Out The Fastest Pit Stop Of The Race© Getty Images
It’s fly away time for the remainder of the season, and it’s a shame because Monza wrapped up a fantastic European campaign for the Team.
Out of the 11 races in Europe the Bulls took nine wins, which not only includes Max’s amazing run in Spa from P14 to taking the win, it also saw Checo become the first Mexican driver to win in the historic Monaco. There were also four one-two finishes in Europe (the first for the Team since 2016). And Max is now up to five wins in a row, can he make it six in Singapore? We’ll find out soon enough…
Arrivederci Europe!© Getty Images
