Scuderia Ferrari HP secured a thrilling victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, thanks to a stellar performance by Charles Leclerc and the strategic brilliance of the team. Leclerc expertly managed his Hard tires longer than any other driver, skillfully holding off the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to cross the finish line first. With this win, Ferrari earned 37 points, including a strong fourth-place finish by Carlos Sainz, outscoring every other team and narrowing the gap to the championship leader to just 39 points. This marks Ferrari’s 246th victory in Formula 1, their third win this season, and Leclerc’s seventh career win and second triumph at Monza following his memorable victory in 2019. Leclerc now sits third in the Drivers’ Championship, with Sainz in fifth place. Just like at Zandvoort last week, Ferrari’s strategy was on point, choosing a bold one-stop approach when most teams opted for two stops. The decision to use less aero downforce also paid off, leveraging the SF-24’s ability to be gentle on its tires. The rest was down to Leclerc’s masterful driving, showcasing his ever-improving skills in tire management.
Race Recap: At the start, Ferrari’s drivers took advantage of a mistake by George Russell at the first chicane, moving up to third (Leclerc) and fourth (Sainz). Leclerc quickly overtook Lando Norris to claim second place, after Oscar Piastri’s aggressive maneuver against his teammate at the Roggia chicane. The Medium tires began degrading early for all drivers, and Leclerc briefly dropped to third after being undercut by Norris. However, after switching to Hard tires on lap 15, Leclerc’s race took a positive turn. He expertly managed his tires to the end, unlike the two McLarens, who had to make a second stop. Leading once again, Leclerc maintained a consistent pace, keeping Piastri and Norris at bay to secure a well-earned victory, his second major win of the season following Monaco in May. Meanwhile, Sainz, who celebrated his 30th birthday today, had a solid race himself, switching to Hards on lap 19 and completing the race without further stops. Despite being overtaken by both McLarens in the final stages, Sainz played a crucial role in supporting Leclerc by holding up Piastri for a couple of laps.
A Sea of Red: As is tradition with a Ferrari win, the jubilant crowd, a sea of red, quickly flooded the track to celebrate on the main straight under the podium, cheering for the team, the drivers, and the team principal, with passionate singing and applause. Tonight, Ferrari will enjoy a well-deserved celebration. The Championship continues in two weeks at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, a track favored by Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc #16
“What an incredible feeling. Winning at Monza for the first time in 2019 was unbelievably emotional for me and the whole team, and I didn’t think it could ever feel that way again—but today it did. Seeing our tifosi celebrate with us is just amazing, and I’m thrilled to share this victory with them once again. Monaco and Monza were the two races I’ve always dreamed of winning because they’re so special to me. A huge thank you to every single person in our team who made this happen today. You’ve done an incredible job turning this dream into a reality, and we can all be proud of this achievement. We executed a perfect strategy today, outmaneuvered our competitors, and we’re determined to keep this momentum going for the rest of the season, seizing every opportunity we get.”
Carlos Sainz #55
“First of all, congratulations to Charles and the entire team, including everyone back in Maranello! I’m really happy for all of them and our tifosi—it’s a truly well-deserved win! It’s a bit disappointing not to have finished on the podium today. I think staying out longer on the first stint cost me some race time and I lost the train of tows at the front. From there, it was hard to make up time, but committing to a one-stop strategy was the right call overall. We should be pleased with how the car is performing. Let’s see if we can keep up these good results in the upcoming races.”
Fred Vasseur – Team Principal, Scuderia Ferrari HP
“What a fantastic result for the team! This is a real confidence booster for all of us and our tifosi, who truly made a difference this weekend. It was a great race, with Charles driving exceptionally well, and I believe we fully deserved this win. After qualifying, we were a bit disappointed because we knew we had the potential for a strong result. Since the start of the season, our race pace has generally been better than our qualifying pace, and today was no exception. Once again, our execution was spot on, allowing us to turn things around. Last year, tire management was our biggest weakness, but now it’s one of our strengths with this car. This was already evident last week in Zandvoort, and now we’re showing consistent race pace. We initially considered a two-stop strategy, but we saw very low degradation in the second stint, so we adjusted our strategy, and Charles had the race under control throughout. It was a risk, but sometimes you have to take risks, and today it paid off. We worked well as a team, knowing that Carlos could support us with a one-stop strategy for both cars. His feedback on the tires was also crucial, providing us with two perspectives, and we were quite confident in our approach.”
John Elkann – Ferrari Chairman
“Winning on home soil in Monza is an unmatched feeling. This victory is for all our fans who always support us and who today gave Charles that extra push in the final laps. Congratulations to the whole team, united in their efforts to get everything right and make this Ferrari win possible.
