Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes thrilling surprise win at Italian Grand Prix

(CNN) — Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held on to take a thrilling Grand Prix win at his team’s home race in Monza, Italy, somehow shepherding his increasingly battered and tired tires to the checkered flag ahead of a marauding Oscar Piastri.

Piastri had led for much of the race after overtaking his McLaren teammate and polesitter Lando Norris on the first chicane but opted for a two-stop strategy, wary of his tires degrading too much. Norris pitted too, and that left the two Ferrari cars of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz out in front with a healthy lead as the remaining laps ticked down.

Though Piastri launched a late challenge as he hurtled towards Leclerc on newer, faster tires, the gap was ultimately too big to close and he could only finish in second place with Norris also overtaking Sainz to complete the podium in third.

Such a win prompted delirious celebrations from the thousands of Italian tifosi packed into the grandstands to cheer on their de facto national team and they sprinted down the track to the podium, unfurling a huge Ferrari banner on their way to watch Leclerc spray champagne from the podium while red smoke drifted into the air above him.

“It’s an incredible feeling … the emotions in the last few laps were exactly the same as in 2019,” Leclerc, third in the driver standings, said in his post-race interview, adding: “Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year, obviously I want to win as many races as possible … but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them both so it’s so, so special.

“The tifosi, you were incredible, mamma mia,” he added, addressing the Italian fans directly. “The first time was really special, my first year in Ferrari … it was a dream for me. I was thinking that (this win) wouldn’t be as special because it wasn’t unique, but this is not the case, it’s always special like this.”

As he celebrated his victory, Norris cut a frustrated figure, left to rue a series of mistakes that saw him drop from first to third on the first chicane, and then a race strategy that consigned him to finishing in third place.

He did close the gap on Max Verstappen in the driver standings and once again displayed the pace of the McLaren car when he flew past the Red Bull driver, who eventually finished in sixth place. Although Verstappen still enjoys a large buffer in the standings, McLaren are increasingly hunting down Red Bull in the constructors’ championship with eight races remaining this season.

Piastri too was left “hurting” from his second-place finish, he said in his post-race interview.

“It hurts a lot. Did a lot of things right today … from the position we were in with the tires looking like they did, doing a one-stop seemed like a risky call and in the end, it was right,” he said. “Very happy with the pace … just when you finish second it hurts.

“Today, unfortunately we got it a bit wrong, and (I was) a big part of that. We had everything to lose from being at the head of the race and Charles could try something a bit different, he was going to finish third anyway. He picked the right gamble today … yep, painful.”

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