Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix

Nov 17, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles LeClerc of Monaco (16) celebrates after securing pole position during qualifying at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday, utilizing a 1-stop strategy to fend off an undercut by McLaren. The victory was the Ferrari driver’s second of the season.

McLaren lost the race on Lap 14.

Norris erased -0.5 sec from Leclerc's gap in one sector and would easily overtake him with DRS on finish straight. But McLaren commited to 2-stops.

Lap 16, they also commited to 2-stops with Piastri. Sainz already know they fucked up.#ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/8mDEYz9HIL

— Maxx | F1newsletter.com (@F1_Newsletter) September 1, 2024

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, both of McLaren, captured second and third in the race, respectively.

For the second week in a row, Red Bull lacked paced, with Max Verstappen finishing 6th and Sergio Perez finishing 8th.

By failing to win and only finishing third despite having pole position to start the race, Norris was only able to cut into Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship by 7 points.

Making a rookie debut for Williams was Franco Colapinto, who battled his way from P18 to P12.

The loss of Adrian Newey seems to be having some impacts as Red Bull has still been unable to figure out the limitations of their RB20. With only seven races remaining, Red Bull will quickly have to dial in the RB20 if they want to fend off McLaren for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.