Monza race report: Charles Leclerc pulls off most spectacular win for Ferrari! | 2024 Italian GP. Results and full report from the 16th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Here is our full text transcript from the 16th round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit in front of the tifosi:

Good afternoon and welcome back to Monza. It is race day for the Italian Grand Prix! Lando Norris starts on pole in a McLaren front-row lockout with team-mate Oscar Piastri in second. Crucially, championship leader Max Verstappen is down in seventh after his worst qualifying of the year. George Russell starts from third and if you think back to the Spanish Grand Prix, he took the lead after a long run down to Turn One – something which we also have today…

The Ferrari drivers of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz start in fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who was not happy with his qualifying performance on Saturday. We are all set for a great race and one which we may look back on as a crucial moment in the championship race…

Carlos Sainz Jr is not so junior anymore with the Ferrari driver – who will switch to Williams for 2025 – turning 30 today. The Spaniard will become only the third Ferrari driver to race at Monza on his birthday, after Clay Regazzoni in 1971 and Stefan Johansson in 1985.

Charles Leclerc will start from fourth, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz in fifth and this is what he has to say: “Tyre management will be a big thing. We have to do our job on that. We have done our homework, so now it is down to the pace of the car. We will do everything for a one-two. Together we will try to do something magic, especially on the 30th birthday of Carlos.”

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur:

“Always on a Sunday this season we have had better pace than in qualifying – the opposite of last year. But we are starting the race with a lot of unknowns. We will have to deal with the new tarmac but it is the same for everybody. We know to be patient for the first couple of laps will avoid the graining but everyone will feel they can fight for the win so this will push everybody not to respect the plan.”

P1 at Monza is no guarantee of victory: none of the last four Italian GPs have been won from pole position, with Lewis Hamilton (2020), Max Verstappen (2021), Charles Leclerc (2022) and Carlos Sainz (2023) all unable to turn P1 after qualifying into victory.

We saw the medium-hard strategy being used last year, with the same strategy expected today for the front-runners. Track temperature is above 50 degrees and if the tyres do overheat too much, maybe we may see someone gamble with a two-stop. However, you lose around 22 seconds when making a pit stop and it actually isn’t easy to overtake cars despite the long straights.

The majority of the field are starting on the medium tyre, with a few exceptions going for the hard. The highest starting hard tyre users are Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in seventh and eighth. Also on hard tyres further back are Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas.

Lap 1/53: Lando Norris doesn’t get away brilliantly but the second phase of his start is better and he holds the lead at the first corner. George Russell aims to pinch second spot from Oscar Piastri but ends up off the track and into the run-off area, which will cost him some grid places. What a dramatic start. There’s no teamwork going on here!

Oscar PIastri goes around the outside of Lando Norris, which becomes the inside at the next part of the chicane, and takes the lead from his team-mate. Norris, knocked off line, then loses second to Charles Leclerc. What a disaster for Norris, all caused by his team-mate!

Lap 2/53: George Russell, now running down in seventh, has wing damage after that remarkable start to the race, one which saw Oscar Piastri nab the lead from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris. Amid this carnage, Russell’s Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton is up into fifth, behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Lap 3/53: Oscar Piastri is not yet out of DRS range, with Charles Leclerc just half a second or so behind him. Lando Norris is a similar distance behind the Ferrari. It remains very tight at the front, but it’s baffling that McLaren have given up total control of the race.

Lap 5/53: RB’s Daniel Ricciardo has been noted by Race Control for almost colliding with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg down the field.

Lap 6/53: Nico Hulkenberg can’t stay away from the RBs. We’ve just seen him come into the pits for a new front wing after a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the first corner. The stewards have noted the incident and I would be very surprised if Hulkenberg didn’t get a penalty for that.

Lap 8/53: The gap between Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc at the front is staying right around a second. Lando Norris has dropped back out of DRS range behind the Monegasque, perhaps saving his tyres for later.

Lap 9/53: We have our first retirement of the Italian Grand Prix with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda out after a collision with Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg has been hit with a 10-second penalty for that, while Daniel Ricciardo has been slapped with a five-second punishment for clipping Hulkenberg.

Lap 10/53: Oscar Piastri has broken free from Charles Leclerc. The gap is over a second and the McLaren may well now get the chance to stretch its legs.

Lap 11/53: Red Bull’s Sergio Perez passes George Russell in an extended DRS zone to grab seventh place, with the Mercedes driver suffering due to that wing damage he sustained earlier on. Russell is now coming into the pits. The Brit is down in 16th after what has been a pretty torrid start to the afternoon for him.

Lap 14/53: Max Verstappen gained that early place from George Russell’s misfortune, but for now is unable to put too much pressure on the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. For now the gap from fifth to sixth is just over a second.

Lap 14/53: Lando Norris is chasing down second-placed Charles Leclerc and has the luxury of DRS as he head into the Ascari chicane. Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri leads Leclerc by over three seconds.

Lap 15/53: You can’t take your eyes off this! Clearly not confident of passing Leclerc on track, McLaren bring Norris in. But he slides as he tries to slow down to the pit lane limit and flicks the bollard. After that, the stop goes smoothly.

Lap 16/53: Charles Leclerc pits from second place and comes out in seventh, behind Lando Norris. Advantage McLaren there. Lewis Hamilton has also pitted and returns to the track in 10th spot in his Mercedes.

Lap 17/53: Oscar Piastri responds with a stop of his own, and comes out in front of his team-mate Lando Norris. For now, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz leads the race from the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Lap 18/53: Lando Norris has just been given a cryptic message over the radio, apparently relating to his team-mate Oscar Piastri. “Lando, it’s likely we will have to cover for the other car. It will be papaya rules,” he’s told by race engineer Will Joseph.

Lap 20/53: Carlos Sainz comes in, handing the lead over to Max Verstappen. The Ferrari emerges just in front of Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton. So he has held track position and also managed to go a bit longer on his tyres than those around him.

Lap 21/53: Signs of understeer on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull with the car continuing to misbehave slightly. The Dutchman leads the race at the moment, though, by over two seconds from team-mate Sergio Perez, with Oscar Piastri third.

Lap 23/53: Max Verstappen comes in from the lead, and it’s a pretty slow stop with the Dutchman stationary for 6.2 seconds. The right rear was slow coming off, and that could be very costly. The fact Verstappen has gone for another set of hard tyres confirms he, and most likely the rest of the field, are doing two-stoppers.

Lap 25/53: Sergio Perez pits and comes out marginally behind seventh-placed Max Verstappen. A boost for the latter, whose lengthy stop seemed poised to leave him behind the Mexican. At the top, Oscar Piastri has regained the lead, so what will McLaren’s play be from here? Let him go for the win or prioritise Lando Norris? The gap between Piastri and second-placed Norris is 1.8 seconds, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.

Lap 27/53: There are no signs Oscar Piastri has any intention of helping out his team-mate. The Australian has responded to Norris’ burst with some strong pace of his own, including the fastest lap of the race. The gap between them is now almost 2.5s. Charles Leclerc is a further couple of seconds back in third.

Lap 30/53: The gap between sixth-placed Lewis Hamilton and seventh-placed Max Verstappen is 7.5 seconds so that could be difficult for the Dutchman to bridge, particularly as he is going to need to stop again.

Lap 31/53: Lando Norris is dropping back from Oscar Piastri rapidly, and into the clutches of Charles Leclerc. Leclerc is told over radio that Norris is “struggling”, and the Ferarri is well within DRS range of the McLaren now. This is not going to plan for Norris!

Lap 31/53: George Russell passes Sergio Perez in the battle for seventh place but goes off the track while doing so hands that spot back to the Mexican immediately.

ap 33/53: Those tyres are clearly gone. Lando Norris is in for another set of hard tyres and comes out in P6 behind his championship rival Max Verstappen. It wasn’t a particularly good stop either, at 3.3 seconds.

Lap 35/53: Lewis Hamilton now finds himself up into fourth place, less that 1.5 seconds behind Ferrari’s birthday boy Carlos Sainz. The gap between Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is a lick over eight seconds.

Lap 34/53: George Russell has made another stop, which came after he dipped a wheel into the dirt while chasing Sergio Perez. The Mercedes has come out in P12 after another imperfect stop.

Lap 36/53: Kevin Magnussen has been an overtaking machine today and adds Williams’ Alex Albon to his scalps as he burgles ninth place. The Dane faces a 10-second penalty, though, for an early collision.

Lap 36/53: Red Bull respond to George Russell’s stop by bringing in Sergio Perez, and it pays off as as the Mexican emerges just in front of the Mercedes. They are running in P9 and P10 but will gain some places when others in front of them stop.

Max Verstappen aske his garage whether they want him to race Lando Norris. The Red Bull driver is around a second ahead of his main rival for the Drivers’ Championship at the moment.

Lap 38/53: Lewis Hamilton is next in for his second stop. The Mercedes driver emerges in P6, and will be thinking about an undercut on Carlos Sainz ahead of him.

Lap 39/53: Oscar Piastri is in for his second stop, which is another slow one! It’s just about quick enough for him to stay in front of Norris, with about 2.5s – and Max Verstappen – between the McLarens. Verstappen, of course, needs to stop again. This George Russell-Sergio Perez battle has been a cracking watch today, with the Mercedes driver passing the Red Bull man now after taking a trip onto the grass. Russell sits eighth – but where could he have been if not for that dramatic start that saw him suffer a seriously damaged wing and drop down the field from P3?

Lap 40/53: Max Verstappen might be ending Lando Norris’ hopes of victory here. The Red Bull keeps the McLaren behind through both DRS sections. Lap 40/53: It’s a Ferrari one-two at the moment, to the delight of the fans at Monza, with Charles Leclerc way out in front, 10 seconds clear of team-mate Carlos Sainz. Will the leaders go to the end of stop again?

Lap 41/53: This time Verstappen can’t deny Norris. The Brit eases past on the main straight, and Verstappen locks up into the first corner too. Has Verstappen hurt his own race by holding up Norris though?

Lap 43/53: Oscar Piastri is closing on Carlos quickly. The question is whether the Spaniard will be able to slow down the McLaren at all when he catches him in a moment. It’s a big ask.

Lap 44/53: Charles Leclerc’s aging tyres look a little grainy so will he be able to hang on for victory or will he be caught up by the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri?

Lap 45/53: Carlos Sainz holds off Oscar Piastri at the start of the lap with some DRS help as they lapped Pierre Gasly. But he can’t hold off the McLaren later in the lap and PIastri is up to second, and 12 seconds back from Charles Leclerc with seven laps remaining.

Lap 47/53: Lewis Hamilton is in fifth spot at the moment and with a 14-second buffer to Max Verstappen in sixth, the Mercedes driver should hold on to that place barring anything extraordinary. Verstappen, though, has just set the fastest lap.

Lap 48/53: Lando Norris couldn’t get past Carlos Sainz at the first attempt, but eventually pulls off the move up the main straight. This would appear to be all about whether Piastri and can catch Leclerc.

Lap 49/53: With four laps remaining, race leader Charles Leclerc’s advantage over Oscar Piastri is just eight seconds. Leclerc’s hard tyres are now 33-laps old. Piastri’s just 11.

Lap 49/53: Lewis Hamilton is closing on Carlos Sainz in the battle for fourth. The gap has just gone under 10 seconds. Behind Hamilton, Max Verstappen is not making any inroads and seems to have settled for sixth.

Lap 51/53: With three full circuits remaining, Charles Leclerc’s lead is at almost exactly seven seconds. It’s coming down, but not enough at the moment from McLaren’s perspective. ando Norris, meanwhile, is 3.5 seconds back from Piastri. No sign McLaren are planning to swap them.

Lap 53/53: Oscar Piastri takes just over a second out of Charles Leclerc on lap 51, which is nowhere near enough. If the Ferrari can continue at this pace, he’s going to deliver the most popular of victories. Lando Norris isn’t closing on Piastri from third.

Chequered flag: Start the party! Charles Leclerc has pulled off the most spectacular win for Ferrari at Monza. The final margin to Oscar Piastri in second is 2.6s, while Lando Norris has to settle for third.