It was a sea of Ferrari red at the Italian Grand Prix at the “temple of speed” at Monza. PETER COSTER sees the emergence of a new generation.
The Young Lions of F1 were on the podium at Monza. Oscar Piastri is 23, Lando Norris 24 and Charles Leclerc two years older at 26.
It was the Ferrari driver, who took a selfie from the podium with the near hysterical “tifosi” behind him, who was the object of their adoration.
He should not have won. The Italian Grand Prix should have gone to McLaren’s Melbourne superstar Oscar Piastri, who finished some two seconds behind Leclerc and in front of McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
What should have been a McLaren shut-out was denied by what turned out to be a strategy mistake.
Or was it?
Piastri said after the race that “everyone is a legend on Monday.” Could have done, should have done.
Leclerc did what he had to do when he decided to stay out after a change of tyres on lap 15. He couldn’t win from where he was with the two McLaren drivers in faster cars.
He went for broke.
The McLarens nearly hunted him down after making a second stop. But nearly is never enough.
The Ferrari’s tyres should never have lasted, but they did. Piastri was asked on team radio whether he wanted to try a one-stop, but he didn’t.
Nor did Norris. Their tyres were already failing, probably because as Lewis Hamilton, said they were wearing out their tyres racing each other.
Norris was passed by Piastri soon after the start in a move the pole sitter didn’t see coming.
Norris, who won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after the summer break, said Piastri “did the job” and “deserved” to make the pass.
The team said it was allowed “under Papaya rules” (named after the distinctive colour of their cars).
The teammates are allowed to race each other but not in the likelihood of a crash.
Their decision not to try a one-stop was the right one. They had everything to lose whereas Leclerc had everything to gain.
So it’s on to the remaining eight races in the season, with McLaren having clearly the fastest cars and Red Bull defending its driver and constructor championships.
Piastri, the king of cool, was calm after losing the race but disappointed. “I’m not going to lie, it hurts a lot,” Piastri said in the post-race interview.
Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari was fourth and seven-times world champion Hamilton fifth ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
Australians on the grid have added a new dimension to Formula One with Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo being joined next year by Jack Doohan, son off five-times world motorbike champion Mick Doohan.
That is if Ricciardo, who finished 13th on Sunday, is still in F1. The eight times GP winner, who won at Monza in 2021 has not been resigned by VICARB or Red Bull’s senior team.
Sergio Perez, who finished eighth at Monza, is safe for the remainder of this year but, like Ricciardo, unlikely to have a Red Bull seat next year.
The end of the team’s domination has reinvigorated the world’s fastest sport. The hysteria over the win by Ferrari and Leclerc saw a sea of red stretching into the distance along the famed circuit.
The gallant young men on the podium are now the stars of a new generation. The old stars are dimming. Lewis Hamilton will be 40 when he joins Ferrari next year in Melbourne. Fernando Alonso is 43. Ricciardo is 35.
Mercedes will have the youngest driver on the track in Antonio Kimi Antonelli, who turned 18 only days before the Monza race.
The has made some pundits question having such a young driver on the grid. His eagerness to fulfil expectations led to him having a massive accident in his practice debut at Monza, hitting the tyre barriers at the high-speed Curva Parabolica.
The impact registered an alarming 45g (times bodyweight) and sending him to the medical centre for a mandatory check.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff was clearly emotional as he spoke to the teenager on radio while the teenager was still in the car.
“Kimi, all good. All good, Kimi” he said softly as if he were a father reassuring a favourite son.
Lewis Hamilton, whose defection to Ferrari has brought on Antonelli’s promotion at least a year earlier than it might have been, can be seen shaking hands with him in a gird photo six years ago.
Antonelli was a wide-eyed “grid kid,” still a child in awe of a hero.
Those old enough remember the dreadful days in F1 when so many drivers were killed in accidents like Antonelli’s that are now survivable.
The list is long.
Whatever happens this year, the focus of the F1 world will be on Albert Park in March next year when the traditional season opener returns to Melbourne.
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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