Yahoo Autos One-Stop Strategy Propels Charles Leclerc to Ferrari Home Race Win
Charles Leclerc was called to pit on lap 15, in an attempt to run Monza with one pit stop, worried about going with an alternative strategy the Ferrari driver asked why the team was doing this to him. The strategy decision propelled Ferrari to it's first win since Monaco in front of a roaring Italian crowd.
Leclerc won for the first time at Monza in 2019, this was Ferrari's only home win in 13 years and the crowd erupted. Leclerc assumed if he every won again the atmosphere would not hit the same level of fever pit, but the Tifosi fans proved him wrong.
"It was an incredible feeling," Leclerc told Sky Sports Nico Rosberg. "I thought the first time would feel like this and then the second, if there was a second time wouldn't feel as special, but my god the emotions in the last few laps was just like 2019."
With winning both Monaco and Monza, Leclerc locks down his hometowns sharing with his team the glory he finally found on the Monaco streets.
"Monaco and Monza are the two races that I want to win every year," Leclerc said. "Obviously I want to win as many races as possible and the World Championship as soon as possible but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. It's so, so special."
Charles Leclerc started fourth and moved to third when George Russell went off track in the second term after being defended by Oscar Piastri.
Piastri started on the front row next to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris on the pole, for the fourth time in 2024 Norris would not lead the first lap after securing the pole. Piastri, who was faster on the start couldn't get the pass in the first two turns and moved to block a charging Russell. By turn four, Piastri was focused on his teammate overtaking him and allowing a hole for Leclerc to follow.
Piastri would finish second after controlling the race on the primary strategy of pitting twice, but at the end of the day could not make up the 11 second lead that Leclerc still had in the final seven laps, crossing the line just under 3 seconds behind. Norris followed in third, grabbing the fastest lap on the final lap and a crucial extra point in the driver's championship.
Capturing 16 points, for finishing third and grabbing the fastest lap, Norris moves to 63 points behind Max Verstappen, he entered the weekend 70 points behind the defending world champion. Verstappen finished sixth, suffering a bad pit stop on his first pit with a stuck tire.
While Norris is chasing down Verstappen for the drivers championship, McLaren has made it clear that Piastri and Norris are allowed to race each other for position, albeit, carefully. Saying Papaya rule, meaning race everyone clean but race anyone in Papaya cleaner.
"Of course because he got past," Norris told Rosberg when asked if he was surprised by the overtake. "I don't know what I should've done differently there. If I brake one meter later I probably would've crashed. Ferrari just drove a better race today, especially Charles."
Norris said that a one-stop race was not considered for him as he fought heavy tire degradation on his right front all race.
Piastri was asked over the radio at one point, if he thought he could make it on one stop, and the Australian driver took the conservative route, knowing that most team's were opting for two-stops and valuing tires over position.
"Yeah it hurts, I'm not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today. There were a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race. From the positions we were in, with the tires looking like they did doing a one-stop felt like a risky call and in the end it was right.
When you finish second, it hurts."
Piastri entered Monza scoring the most points over the last five races, with his second place finish he extends this to sixth. Piastri also extends his streak of being the only driver to complete every lap of a race in the 2024 season.
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