The 2021 Italian GP saw Daniel Ricciardo win a chaotic race which featured a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
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In the end of the Italian GP, it was indeed two Mercedes-powered cars that took the top two steps of the podium. But it wasn’t the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. No, the McLaren’s of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris came home in a 1-2 finish for the British team. Bottas would be on the podium in third place, but Hamilton – along with title rival Max Verstappen – did not finish. We’ll come to why that was the case in just a bit, but the main story of the day was McLaren’s moment in the sun.
However, even aside from the victory for them, there were plenty of other talking points coming out of F1’s post-summer break triple header. Let’s take a look at those now.
When Ricciardo was on his post-race out lap, he said some poignant words on team radio. After the usual shouting and celebrations, the Australian simply said “I never left”. This was to downplay the implication that his race win meant he was ‘back’ in any way.
Yet even he would acknowledge that 2021 has been a slog for him. After an extremely strong 2020 at Renault that saw him consistently finish among the points and also grab two podium finishes, his McLaren stint has been poor by those standards. He’s struggled to come to grips with the car and has often been outshone by Norris. Understandably, this has led to the ‘Honey Badger’ cutting a somewhat forlorn figure in recent times.
Not anymore though. Ricciardo was at his pacy best throughout the weekend at Monza, and even held off former teammate and current title contender Verstappen for long stretches. He did struggle a bit for pace later in the race, but crucially for him no one could match him.
It was a big deal for McLaren too. This was their first race win since Brazil 2012 and first 1-2 finish since Canada 2010. And while this win did owe a lot to what we will discuss next, that doesn’t make it any less sweet. And they will be hungry for more.
The first thought in the mind of most fans when Hamilton and Verstappen’s clash at turn 2 was “here we go again”. The clash brought back some memories of the race at Silverstone, only this was much worse. Both drivers were out, and Hamilton was lucky to not be seriously injured. After all, Verstappen’s Red Bull managed to park itself over Hamilton’s Mercedes.
It’s a credit to the safety measures intoduced by the sport in recent years – most notably the halo – that Hamilton walked away with nothing more than a little neck pain. Yet there’s no ignoring the fact that Hamilton will feel hard done by, especially since Verstappen got two points during the sprint. The defending champion walks away with nothing.
This clash will undoubtedly fan the flames of their rivalry once again. Verstappen said he was given no space, while Hamilton pointed out that he had the inside line on turn 2. Whichever side of this argument you’re on, there’s little doubt this will make the next few races all the more interesting.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas had quite the memorable race. He won the sprint race on Saturday but took a grid penalty for changing parts of the engine. Thus, come Sunday, he had it all to do if he wanted even a points finish. That he managed a podium is quite frankly amazing.
He was, of course, helped by the fact that Sergio Perez was handed a five-second penalty. The Red Bull driver finished third but his penalty meant he was classified fifth. Still, that takes little away from the magnificent attacking driving that the Finn put in to get to the front row.
In the same week he confirmed that his Mercedes stint will end this year, Bottas put in a showing that reminded everyone of his ability. He’s suffered from comparison to his teammate – a seven-time world champion and an all-time great of the sport. But Bottas has been a valuable cog of the Mercedes machine since 2017.
And speaking of the man who will replace him next year…
It’s been some week for George Russell. The young British driver finally got the Mercedes move that his talent warrants. So how does he celebrate? Why, by going out and overachieving in his Williams car, of course! He finished ninth on the day and took home two more valuable points for himself and the team.
Granted, he too was helped partially by the chaos up front. But the simple fact is that this Williams does not belong anywhere near the points at present. That Russell has now scored points in three of the last four races speaks volumes to how well he’s doing in the side.
More performances like this in the Mercedes next year and he will be assured of a spot in the sport for years to come.
The Italian GP saw three teams get both drivers among the points. McLaren finished first and second, but aside from them both Ferrari’s and Alpine’s also got in among the points. There was to be no podium finish in front of the tifosi, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can be happy with fourth and sixth. Indeed, Leclerc described it as one of his top five drives in the sport.
Meanwhile, the Alpine’s of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon finished eighth and tenth, respectively. It’s probably not as high as they would have liked, but the French side are now at least consistently among the points. That is a good place to be for the rest of the season – and for the start of next season too.
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