MONZA, Italy: Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to delight Ferrari’s massed ranks of fans as Lando Norris again chipped away at struggling champion Max Verstappen’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings.
Monegasque Leclerc claimed victory at Monza for the second time after winning in 2019, holding off McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Norris in a thrilling race in which Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth.
Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season, after his own home Monaco GP, after holding out on a set of hard tires he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.
“I thought that the first time would feel like this and the second time wouldn’t feel as special,” said Leclerc as he basked in the cheers of fans who made the track a joyous, noisy sea of red after the race.
“But my god the emotions in the last few laps; Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special.”
All of Leclerc’s major rivals, apart from teammate Carlos Sainz who ended up finishing fourth ahead of his Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton, pitted twice and McLaren were hoping that the Ferrari pair would do the same.
Instead Leclerc managed to keep his tires in good enough condition to stay ahead and in the end finish the race comfortably in front of Piastri, who had taken the race lead early on after an overtake maneuver on Norris which was as daring as it was tactically questionable.
“Not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today,” said Australian Piastri.
“Happy with the race, the pace I achieved but when you finish second it hurts.”
Briton Norris — who clocked the fastest lap right at the end — will be disappointed by his finish after starting on pole but he managed to chop Verstappen’s championship lead to 62 points with eight races remaining as his Dutch rival’s barren run continued.
“We considered (pitting once) the whole race but it was impossible with our graining. Just disappointed. Ferrari did a better job, so hats off to them,” said Norris.
Verstappen has now failed to win any of the last six GPs after claiming the honors in seven of the first 10, and his and Red Bull’s dominance of F1 looks increasingly in question.
A fourth straight world title looked a near certainty when Verstappen won in Spain back in June, but since then he has only finished on the podium twice.
And his teammate Sergio Perez finishing in eighth meant that McLaren are now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructor’s standings and look favorites to win it for the first time since 1998.
Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced axed Logan Sargeant for Williams following his disastrous showing at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, finish in 12th in his F1 debut.
Earlier Leonardo Fornaroli became the first Italian to win the F3 title, the 19-year-old doing so without winning a single race in this year’s championship.
Trident driver Fornaroli overtook Australian Christian Mansell on the final corner of the 10-race season to grab third place and snatch the title from Gabriele Mini by two points.
Gabriel Bortoleto won the F2 race in dramatic fashion after starting last on the grid, cutting Isack Hadjar’s lead at the top of the stands to just 10.5 points with three races remaining in the season.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen falters again
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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen falters again
- Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season
- Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth
Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga
VILA-REAL, Spain Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
Mbappe and Vinicius Junior “are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who... I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half.
- ‘Nightmare for defenses’ -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank and his low cross was blocked but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
“They are a nightmare for defenses,” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “I hope they can keep bringing joy.”
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“For you,” Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support.
“For me, the most important thing is that are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius’s goal and we saw it again today, with Brahim,” Arbeloa told reporters.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
