‘Painful’: Tortoise beats the hare as Oscar Piastri rues one that got away at Monza

“Painful.”

With his head bowed and with a sigh of resignation, Australian Formula 1 superstar Oscar Piastri admitted just how gutted he was to miss out on winning one of the races he and his peers want to win most – the Italian GP at Monza.

There was to be no repeat of the last time an Australian saluted at one of motor sport’s most famed circuits when Daniel Ricciardo stood atop the podium and did a trademark “shoey” – winning ahead of Lando Norris in a McLaren one-two finish.

For Piastri, this was one that got away as he finished a gut-wrenching second behind Charles Leclerc in the prancing horse Ferrari on their home track.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri leads Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Monza.Credit: Getty Images

After the drama of the Hungaroring in late July, Piastri made sure team orders wouldn’t intervene this time as he chased his championship-contending teammate Norris off the grid into turn one.

This time, he took matters into his own hands by overtaking into the chicane mere seconds after the start of the race and refusing to relent.

Ferrari’s fans after Charles Leclerc claimed victory at Monza.Credit: AP

With storm clouds lingering above the 30-plus degree heat, Piastri – starting in second – lit up the track to overtake pole-sitter Norris. It was a stunning move, but one that would later bring into question whether the McLarens pushed too hard too early as Ferrari pulled the double-bluff to stop just once – as opposed to twice by the other contenders – to win their home race in front of the adoring “Tifosi”.

There are few sights like Ferrari saluting at Monza, as the sea of red on the grid proved after they showered Charles Leclerc with praise.

“I’m not going to lie, it hurts a lot,” Piastri said to the host broadcast Sky in the aftermath of a dramatic race.

“We did a lot of things right today – there were a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race.

Piastri had to settle for the second step on the podium at Monza.Credit: Getty Images

“From the position we were in, with the tyres looking like they did, doing a one-stop [strategy] seemed like a very risky call and in the end it was right.

“[I was] very, very happy with the pace of the race that I managed to achieve – just when you finish second it hurts.”

Piastri made hay while the sun shone in the early going, gapping the field, including Leclerc and Norris.

But while he pitted twice as he felt the severe effects of “graining” – or tyre wear, Leclerc played the long game, pitting just once on lap 15 of the 53-lap race, and maintaining enough of an advantage to ultimately hold on for glory by just 2.664 seconds.

Norris crossed in third ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and future Ferrari star and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes. A struggling Max Verstappen could only manage sixth, though he still maintains a strong points buffer in his hunt for a fourth-straight title.

Sky Sports pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz said it best when analysing Piastri’s first-lap overtake of Norris.

“Lando might not have liked it, but it was a fairly clean pass,” he said of the fate of his fellow Brit.

Norris pitted on lap 14 to try and undercut Leclerc (to pit first and then use his better tyre condition to set a blistering time on his out-lap and come out in front), and it worked for a time, but Ferrari had the last laugh – making sure the Monégasque star’s first and only stop was on lap 15.

Piastri pitted from the lead on lap 16 and at the time held a 26-second advantage over his teammate back in sixth, but the Ferrari of Leclerc was right there. Hiding in plain sight – ready to creep away slowly from the crime scene without anyone suspecting a thing until it was too late.

While McLaren invoked “Papaya rules” (named after the famous colour of their cars) to remind Norris that he could race Piastri for the win, neither could ultimately catch Leclerc at the track that means most to the Ferrari faithful.

2024 F1 DRIVER STANDINGS

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 303 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) 241 points
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 217 points
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 197 points

1st: 25 points, 2nd: 18 points, 3rd: 15 points, 4th: 12 points, 5th: 10 points, 6th: 8 points, 7th: 6 points, 8th: 4 points, 9th: 2 points, 10th: 1 point.

There are eight races remaining this season.

He was surprised by Piastri’s nerveless early overtake – one that McLaren team principal Andrea Stella later said the team would review – but admitted one stop wasn’t possible with his own tyres graining.

“Ferrari did a better job, they had a better car today – hats off to them,” Norris said.

“They did something with strategy we would not be able to achieve today.

“[And] well done to him (Oscar) – he did a good job, he got past me, and he deserved it.”

Norris later questioned when speaking to reporters whether Piastri went too close to the limit in overtaking him so early and the nature of the manoeuvre in the chicane, but added: “We both clearly suffered a lot more than the Ferrari and there was not a lot we could do at the time.

“If we could go back and review things and change some things, maybe we could have prepared even more for it, but we knew our limitations – we knew what to expect – [and] I feel like we still maximised today. We just couldn’t quite have what the Ferrari had.”

2024 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX FINISHING ORDER

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:14:40.727
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +2.664 sec
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +6.153
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +15.621
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +22.820
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +37.932
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +39.715
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +54.148
9. Alexander Albon (Williams) +67.456
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +68.302
11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +68.495
12. Franco Colapinto (Williams) +81.308
13. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) +93.452
14. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1 lap
15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +1 lap
17. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +1 lap
18. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) +1 lap
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 lap
20. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) DNF

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