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A euphoric Charles Leclerc vowed, after taking his second Italian Grand Prix victory on Sunday at Monza, that he and Ferrari will keep pushing trying to keep their momentum.
Early signs from Ferrari’s Formula 1 weekend at home did not indicate a win was on the cards, and indeed Leclerc qualified fourth with Carlos Sainz in fifth as McLaren locked out the front row with Lando Norris on pole, Oscar Piastri second.
However, on race day, Leclerc capitalized on the McLaren drivers’ opening lap battle, and sneaked past Norris who was overtaken by Piastri, putting himself into contention for a good result.
But the masterstroke came from the Ferrari pitwall who put Leclerc and Sainz on a one-stop strategy outsmarting the McLaren who went for a one-stopper.
Leclerc: Seeing our tifosi celebrating with us is just amazing
Leclerc drover a masterful race to make his tyres last till the end and keep a late-charging Piastri at bay, to take his seventh F1 career win, his second at Monza.
“What an incredible feeling,” Leclerc said in Ferrari’s post race report. “The first time I won in Monza in 2019 was so emotional to both me and to our whole team, I didn’t think that winning here could ever feel like that again, but today, it did.
“Seeing our tifosi celebrating with us is just amazing and I am so glad that we could share this victory for a second time. Monaco and Monza were the two races I have always wanted to win, because they are so special to me.
“A huge thank you to every single person in our team who made this happen today,” the Ferrari star went on. “You have done an incredible job to make this dream a reality and we can all be proud to have achieved this together.
“We had a perfectly executed strategy today and beat our competitors to it, and we will give everything to keep this momentum for the rest of the season, taking any opportunity we have,” Leclerc concluded.
Sainz: A shame I couldn’t keep a podium
Sainz may have missed out on a podium, but nevertheless drove a strong race to take fourth, he commented: “First of all, congratulations to Charles and the entire team, including the people working in Maranello.
“I’m really happy for all of them and the tifosi, it’s definitely a well deserved win! It was a shame I couldn’t keep a podium position today,” the Spaniard lamented. “I think staying out and extending the first stint made me lose some race time and the train of tows at the front.
“From there it was difficult to make up time but the call to commit to a one-stop strategy was the right one and overall we should be happy that the car seems to work better.
“Let’s see in the upcoming races if we can keep up the good results,” Sainz, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Sunday, concluded.
The best rendition of Happy Birthday one could ask for! @Carlossainz55 #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CUfAYQpoH3
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 1, 2024
Ferrari boss, Fred Vasseur, summed up his team’s home F1 weekend, he said: “What a mega result for the team!
“This is a real confidence booster for all of us and our tifosi who really made the difference this weekend. It was a very good race in which Charles drove incredibly well and I think we fully deserved this win. After qualifying, we were a bit disappointed, because we knew we had the potential to do very well.
Vasseur: Tyre management one of the advantages we have with SF-24
“From the beginning of the season, I think we are probably in better shape on race pace than in qualifying and it was the case also today,” Vasseur pointed out. “Once again the execution was very good and we were able to turn things around.
“Last year tyre management was our biggest weakness whereas now, I think it’s one of the advantages we have with this car. It was already the case last week in Zandvoort and now we are quite consistent in terms of race pace to the point that we did think it might be a two stop but then we saw very low degradation in the second stint and we changed our strategy accordingly and Charles had the race under control all the time.
“It was a risk but sometimes you have to take risks and today it worked,” the Frenchman added. “We worked well as a team and we knew that Carlos could help if we did a one-stop with the two cars.
“He was also helping us with feedback on the tyres because it’s important to have two opinions, two different sources of information and we were quite relaxed on this front,” Vasseur concluded, hailing Sainz’s role in achieving the victory.
Ferrari winning at Monza is such a special moment that even John Elkann, Ferrari Chairman, weighed in, he added: “Winning on home turf in Monza is a unique feeling.
“This win is for all our fans who always support us and who today gave Charles that extra push over the final few laps.
“Congratulations to the whole team who were united in their efforts to get everything right, making this Ferrari win possible,” Elkann concluded.
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