Lando Norris took a bite out of Max Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship, but it could have been more as Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari.
As the home winner celebrated among a charged Tifosi, Norris came home third, a place behind his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen finished sixth, which leaves him 62 points ahead of Norris – who took the fastest lap bonus point – with eight rounds remaining.
As for Leclerc he did brilliantly to marshal his tyres through 38 laps in searing heat – a one-stop masterstroke by Ferrari and their No 1 driver.
Norris has not led at the end of the opening lap on any of the occasions he has started on pole. That was four times coming into today’s race. The pressure was on. His team boss Zak Brown had urged him to get his elbows out.
Charles Leclerc earned Ferrari a surprise win at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon
Brit Lando Norris had been the pole sitter, but again lost the lead and finished third
Oscar Piastri (left) took second, with McLaren deciding against swapping their drivers late on
Norris’s initial getaway from pole was smart and he moved to ithe right to take the inside into Variante del Rettifilo. It was all good until his untidy exit from this first chicane that allowed Piastri, starting in second, to grab a tow into Curve Grande to set himself up for an attack on the entry to the second chicane, Variante del Roggia.
Piastri was not standing on ceremony. He planted his orange missile on the outside and then completed the move on the inside of the latter part of the chicane.
Norris, discombobulated, lost his way and Leclerc passed him to push him into third place.
Norris’s lead had lasted three corners. How can anyone say he is not afflicted by nerves as the title race has hotted up?
As if to prove the fact, his entry into the pits for his first stop was almost comical as he hit a polystyrene advertising board, having slammed on the brakes to get down to the 50mph pit-lane limit.
He was doing the undercut at this point, but to no avail with regards to the leadership of the race. He passed Leclerc in the pit stops, but Piastri emerged from his re-booting two laps later with a lead of 2.3sec once it had all shuffled out.
‘You are allowed to race Oscar,’ Norris was told by race engineer Will Joseph. ‘Papaya rules.’ The was code for ‘keep it clean’ – an arrangement agreed in their pre=race meeting this morning.
There was little sustained evidence that Norris was making inroads on Piastri, despite the invitation to do so. The Australian was in charge.
Max Verstappen came sixth, and is 62 points ahead of Norris with eight races remaining
The day, however, belonged to Ferrari at their home race, with Carlos Sainz finishing fourth
One question was whether team order would be applied, but did not seem likely to be the McLaren way.
Norris came in first of the McLaren leaders for his second stop but the pattern was set and Piastri was ahead by 2.4sec when he filed out six laps later.
Verstappen, who had not pitted a second time, had Norris on his back at this stage. What drama would this lead to? Nothing too excessive as Norris passed his championship rival at the opening bend of lasp 41.
‘Just drive f****** fast,’ Jospeh implored Norris, there being nothing else but that desperate plea to fall back on.
A curveball then presented itself. The Ferraris were in front of the two McLarens and attempting one stoppers. Leclerc was a long way up the road – 11.7sec ahead of Piastri with seven laps remaining when he passed Carlos Sainz to go second.
Norris also cleared Sainz for third. Leclerc was clear, and so it remained.