Charles Leclerc will be hoping to win his second grand prix in a row after taking top spot in Belgium last Sunday. This was a good race for both Ferrari and Mercedes, who had its drivers finish in the top four spots.
However, he will have a tough time next week after Lewis Hamilton’s record of four victories in his last five Italian GPs. It could be another good weekend for Mercedes, who have dominated the 2019 championship this year. Could Valtteri Bottas get a win in Italy?
Here’s what you need to know ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix in Monza.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
What? Italian Grand Prix
Where? Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
When? Sunday 8th September 2019 (14:10)
PREVIOUS ITALIAN GP WINNERS:
2018 – Lewis Hamilton
2017 – Lewis Hamilton
2016 – Nico Rosberg
2015 – Lewis Hamilton
2014 – Lewis Hamilton
LAST GP REVIEW: BELGIUM GRAND PRIX
Max Verstappen, who’s performed very well so far this year, crashed in to the barriers within the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.
That was a big blow for Red Bull, who had been hoping that they could continue to build momentum. Alfa Romeo’s Raikkonen also suffered damage in the first lap and had to make a lengthy pitstop.
Sainz had to pull out of the race just a couple of laps later and the safety car was deployed once again.
Once the safety car was removed, the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes was on.
Leclerc and Vettel were just ahead of both Hamilton and Bottas and these positions remained the same beyond the 10th lap. Meanwhile, Lando Norris moved up to 5th position from 11th where he started on the grid.
Danill Kvyat of Toro Rosso also made a big gain by the 16th lap, moving to 7th and up twelve places from where he started the race.
The incident at the start of the race involving Raikkonen severely affected the Finnish driver, who fell numerous places after gaining a good position on the third row of the starting grid.
The two early pit stops didn’t do him any favours at all, although he managed to recover to 12th not long after. Vettel’s pitstop in the same lap allowed Hamilton and Bottas to move up to 2nd and 3rd place, although the German’s stop was quick and effective.
There was also a minute of applause in the 19th lap for 22-year-old Anthoine Hubert, who tragically died after crashing in Belgium on Saturday.
Vettel moved ahead of Leclerc after the Monagasue pitted, although the Frenchman was fresh rubber and quickly caught his team-mate.
Ferrari made the decision to instruct Vettel to allow Leclerc past him so that the young French driver could take first place approaching the Lap 30.
This was damaging for the German, who faced a huge battle with Lewis Hamilton a couple of laps later to retain second place, something he failed to do as the Briton moved ahead of him.
The battle between Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly on the 33rd lap for 10th was a thrilling duel, with the two drivers swapping teams during the summer break. Sebastian Vettel made another pitstop in the following lap for a change of tyres which put him in fourth position.
However, the good news for Ferrari was that Leclerc was now seven seconds ahead of second placed Hamilton with under 10 laps to go.
Although this lead was cut to just over four by the 40th lap, Leclerc was still in a position to win. It looked certain that Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas were going to be on the podium, with Vettel far behind the three other drivers.
Hamilton was just 1.5 seconds behind Leclerc going in to the final lap. Although the Mercedes driver closed the gap further, Charles Leclerc came across the line in first place to win his first ever grand prix.
Final Classification:
1st – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2nd – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3rd – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4th – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5th – Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
6th – Sergio Perez (Racing Point)
7th – Daniil Kvyat (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
8th – Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
9th – Pierre Gasly (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
10th – Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
11th – Lando Norris (McLaren)
12th – Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
13th – Romain Grosjean (Haas)
14th – Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
15th – George Russell (Williams)
16th – Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
17th – Robert Kubica (Williams)
DNF – Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
DNF – Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
DNF – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
REMAINING GRAND PRIX 2019 EVENTS:
22nd September – Singapore GP
29th September – Russian GP, Sochi
13th October – Japanese GP, Suzuka
27th October – Mexican GP, Mexico City
3rd November – US Grand Prix, Texas
17th November – Brazilian GP, Sao Paulo
1st December – Abu Dhabi GP
