© Getty ImagesTough Test At The Temple Of SpeedA tough, combative Italian Grand Prix saw Alex score eight points for sixth place, while Max battled from the back of the Monza grid to take eighth place and four points at the chequered flag.
Christian And Max Reflect On The Race© Getty Images
- MAX MAKES TWO-STOP RACE WORK TO SECURE P8
- ALEX FORCED OFF TRACK EARLY IN THE RACE BY SAINZ DROPS TO P11
- ALEX STEADILY CLIMBS BACK TO P6 AT THE FLAG
- MAX CLASHES WITH RÄIKKÖNEN AND GROSJEAN AT THE START, PITS FOR NEW NOSE AND SOFT TYRES
Both Bulls were involved in minor incidents soon after the lights went out at the start of the race. Alex didn’t get the best getaway and he dropped to P10 on lap one. Max, too, had a tricky start, tangling with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and Haas’ Romain Grosjean into the first corner. That necessitated a visit to the pit lane for Max, where he took on a new nose cone and swapped his starting medium tyres for softs.
At the front, pole sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari held his advantage and took the lead ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Behind them Sebastian Vettel in the second Ferrari lost out to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg early in the lap and dropped to P5.
Max On The Curb© Getty Images
Alex was soon climbing the order but he again hit trouble on lap three. He passed eighth-placed Carlos Sainz into the Variante Roggia, but the Spaniard fought back and Alex was forced off track at the next corner. The clash dropped him back to P11.
The next major incident came on lap five when Vettel lost control at Ascari. The Ferrari driver spun in mid-corner and slid off track. He quickly rejoined, though in a manner that forced the onrushing Lance Stroll to also spin. The Racing Point driver then also mirrored Vettel’s unsafe return to the track and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was forced to go wide into the gravel.
The incidents resulted in Vettel getting a 10-second stop/go penalty, while Stroll received a drive through penalty. Both drivers made their way to pit lane to serve the sanctions and dropped to the rear of the field. It meant that by lap 16 Max had climbed to P14 and Alex was up to P7 after executing a clinical pass on Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
Italian GP: Race
Max Takes The Curb© Getty Images
Alex Listens To His Engineer Mike Lugg© Getty Images
Adrian Looks On Before The Race© Getty Images
Max Goes Off And Onto The Grass© Getty Images
Alex Leads The Toro Rosso Pair© Getty Images
A Rear Shot Of Alex On The Curb© Getty Images
Alex Gets Taken To His Starting Position© Getty Images
Christian Shares A Smile With Max© Getty Images
The Italian Pre-Race Flyover© Getty Images
Max On The Grass© Getty Images
Alex Leaves The Pits© Getty Images
Alex Battles With A Haas© Getty Images
Hamilton was the first of the leading pack to pit, on lap 19. The Mercedes man opted for medium tyres and rejoined in fifth place. Ferrari covered with Leclerc pitting on the next lap for hard tyres.
He emerged ahead of Hamilton but the Mercedes driver quickly began to close the gap. Leclerc passed Hulkenberg around the outside of Parabolica to regain third place and that allowed Hamilton attack into turn one and again into the second chicane. Leclerc defended hard, however, and Hamilton was forced to cut the chicane. The Ferrari driver’s defence earned him a black and white flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Alex made his sole pit stop on lap 26, rejoining on medium tyres in P12, which soon became P8 as the pit window took effect. Max soon followed his teammate to the pits, on lap 27, and this time he took on hard tyres as he prepared for a race to the flag from P13.
11 – Places made up in the race by Max, his biggest climb through the order at Monza. His previous biggest gain here was in 2015 with Toro Rosso when he went from P20 to P12.
9 – Alex’s rise up the Driver’s standings continues. He moves from P10 after Belgium to P9 now, on 34 points, the same as P8 man Daniel Ricciardo.
Max was quickly on the march and after inheriting P12 he eased past Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly into turn one to once again sit on the cusp of the points.
At the front, Hamilton was putting Leclerc under heavy pressure and on lap 36 the Monegasque driver made a mistake. He outbraked himself on the approach to turn one and was forced to cut the first chicane. Hamilton tried to pounce into the second chicane and Leclerc again defended robustly to hold off the challenge.
Further back, Alex was now gaining ground on Hulkenberg and with 15 laps to go he had cut an 11-second deficit to the Renault to just seven seconds. Max, too, continued to march forward and in the closing stage he found himself in eighth place.
Hamilton’s pursuit of Leclerc came to end with 13 laps to go. The Briton outbraked himself into turn one and was forced to cut the chicane. That allowed Bottas to sweep past and claim second place.
Almost In The Gravel© Getty Images
Max got inside DRS range of Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez but the Mexican proved to be a tough opponent and as the laps ebbed away he couldn’t find a way past and his march forward ended in P8.
It was a similar story for Alex. With five laps remaining he had reduced the gap to Hulkenberg to two seconds. But time was running out and though he pushed to the maximum Alex crossed the line in sixth place, just 1.1s behind the Renault driver.
Ahead Leclerc comfortably held off Bottas to take his second career win and victory for Ferrari on home soil. Hamilton took third after making a late pit stop for new soft tyres that allowed him to claim fastest lap. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were fourth and fifth respectively. Behind Max the final points positions were taken by Giovinazzi and Norris.
- Charles Leclerc
- Valtteri Bottas
- Lewis Hamilton
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Nico Hulkenberg
- ALEX ALBON
- Sergio Perez
- MAX VERSTAPPEN
- Antonio Giovanazzi
- Lando Norris
