The Temple of Speed has just concluded its latest sermon, a cautionary tale of not hedging one’s bets and expecting to control a race that sat on a strategic knife-edge. It all came to pass at this year’s edition of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza — Formula 1’s 74th visit to the circuit north-west of Milan.
A McLaren 1-2 on the grid rather set expectations that the race would be a breeze for the brace of MCL38s, but Charles Leclerc and Ferrari instead put them to the sword with a strategic gamble — one that ignited a sonorous wave of euphoria from the scarlet-robed home supporters.
But wait: there’s more! A surprise debutant impressed in their first grand prix, a highly rated youngster matched a seven-time world champion in one lap and then threw the car off in the next, and F1’s penalty points system culminated in the first driver ban since 2012.
Let’s recap everything that happened at Monza, now in the glorious technicolour of hindsight…
1. Ferrari defies its reputation with key tactical victory
A tactical masterstroke of committing to a one-stop strategy worked wonders for Leclerc
Photo by: Ferrari
As much as those who indulge in internet memes like to beat a dead horse, these rarely stray too far from the truth. Ferrari, particularly in the Maurizio Arrivabene and Mattia Binotto years, were infamous for concocting sub-par strategies that contrived to seize defeat from victory’s mandibles.
These stood in stark contrast to Jean Todt’s stewardship of the team, where Ferrari’s grasp of race management was seen as nearly flawless. But under Fred Vasseur, it seems that the team is much more light on its feet.
Tyre graining added a different element into this year’s Monza affair, pushing the grand prix out of a comfortable one-stop window and shifting it towards the two-stopper. McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull all seemed to opt for a two-stopper pretty early. Ferrari knew that, if it followed suit, it could attain a 3-4 finish with relative ease. But it had ambitions of more.
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Keeping Leclerc and Carlos Sainz out on a one-stop had its risks, but it was overwhelmingly worth taking a punt on it. The execution wasn’t entirely perfect, as the decision to react to Norris with Leclerc made the job perhaps a little bit more difficult. But the Monegasque did a stellar job to not only build enough of a buffer over Oscar Piastri, but also retain enough tyre life to ensure the Australian ran out of time to fully consume the gap between them.
It was about eight or nine laps from the end when the Ferrari fans in attendance started to cotton on to the prospect of a victory for their beloved team — and what better way to dispel a reputation for poor strategic decisions?
2. McLaren’s new ‘Papaya Rules’ immediately get tested
Piastri snatched the lead away from Norris on he opening lap, causing the poleman to also drop behind Leclerc
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
The emergence of McLaren’s «papaya rules» terms of engagement will undoubtedly enter the pantheon of motorsport phraseology, alongside «Felipe, Fernando is faster than you…» and «Multi-21». And, indeed, «Papaya Rules» sounds nebulous enough to be the name of a dingy nightclub, an early Aphex Twin track, or the code of conduct in a fruit-themed secret society.
In a world of piranhas, McLaren is trying to prove that it can win a title in the most agreeable way possible. The «Papaya Rules» philosophy details how Norris and Piastri should treat each other on the track: with care, courtesy, and not at the detriment of the team as a collective. That seems sensible, although Piastri certainly stress-tested those ideals with his bold, brave, and brilliant Turn 4 move on Norris.
It was brilliantly judged by the Australian, who clearly does not fancy playing second fiddle to Norris despite the Briton’s outside shot at the title. Having been covered off at the start, Piastri maintained a slipstream on his team-mate through Curva Grande and held the outside line for the Variante della Roggia chicane, forcing Norris to take a tighter line. It was enough space for Piastri to squeeze through and come up for air with the lead — while Norris conceded a further place to Leclerc having been off-line.
«We will have to review together with the drivers, look at the videos, understand their point of view, and then we will assess together whether they were fully compliant or not,» team principal Andrea Stella reckoned, asked if the move complied with the new directive.
3. Red Bull’s fizz has gone flat
This certainly was not a vintage performance from Red Bull
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
«I’ve said a lot and now it’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car, because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undriveable car in the space of six to eight months. So that is very weird for me. And we need to really turn the car upside down.»
Max Verstappen was a lot less combative over the radio compared to his Hungary diatribes, but he nonetheless made no bones of his displeasure that he is now clinging on to a once-unassailable grip on the 2024 title.
A near-0.7 second gap to pole in qualifying set off his disappointment over the weekend, and ending up sixth only came as a result of George Russell’s first-lap off and front-wing damage. Without the nose-change, Russell likely would have beaten the championship leader.
The Dutch driver described his car as «a monster» — and not in a particularly complimentary manner. Sergio Perez was a very distant eighth, and could only contain the recovering Russell for a few laps by taking liberties with his defence.
The team took a gamble in starting on the hard tyres, but early graining cemented the two-stopper as the duo had to pit too early for the one-stop window. Red Bull of old might have been able to make the magic happen in the same manner as Ferrari — but instead, the Milton Keynes squad was decidedly fourth-best all weekend.
«We’ve hit the ceiling in certain areas and the car’s disconnected,» team principal Christian Horner rued. «And sometimes maybe to have slightly less load but an overall better balance will generate better lap time, better degradation, better tyre management, all of those aspects.»
4. Magnussen cops F1’s first driver ban in 12 years
Magnussen will be benched for Baku after his latest penalty points for clashing with Gasly
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
When Kevin Magnussen hit 10 penalty points after the Miami Grand Prix, the ice under his feet was wafer thin. But it managed not to crack during his first-lap Monaco clash with Sergio Perez, and he managed to tread carefully over the next races.
The penalty-point Sword of Damocles continued to hang over his head, but it hardly dulled his racing efforts. But a seemingly innocuous wheel-bang with Pierre Gasly at the Variante della Roggia ultimately proved to be the straw that broke the stewards’ backs.
For an incident with few ramifications, and one that caused Gasly barely a sniff of strife, the 10-second penalty and two points added to Magnussen’s swollen tally felt undeniably harsh. Even Gasly noted that he hoped «somehow they can revert on that because that will would be definitely unfair», while Magnussen took an expected dim view of the aftermath.
«I don’t understand it at all,» Magnussen said after finishing 10th. «You know, flat out, just completely confused.
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«Me and Gasly raced hard into Turn 4. Before, we had slight contact, we both missed the corner, came back on track again, no damage to either car, no consequence to the race of either of us, and I get a 10-second penalty.
«But lap one, [Daniel] Ricciardo put Nico [Hulkenberg] in the grass at 300 kilometers an hour, completely destroyed Nico’s race, massive consequence and damage to Nico’s car, and he gets a five-second penalty. Where’s the logic? I just don’t get it.»
Magnussen is thus banned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and it is expected that Oliver Bearman will take the reins at Haas. This is the first driver ban since Romain Grosjean was benched for the 2012 Monza race after causing a first-corner pile-up at Spa, with Jerome d’Ambrosio coming in as a replacement. The two incidents are very different in scope, but yielded the same net result.
5. Antonelli sings, spins, shunts, and signs for 2025
It was an eventful weekend for Antonelli, who crashed on his FP1 debut before being announced as a race driver for 2025
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Just because the Italian fanbase is famous for its dyed-in-the-wool Ferrari support, doesn’t mean that it can’t take the time to appreciate a home driver. Indeed, Italy hasn’t had one of its own racing in F1 since Antonio Giovinazzi’s lukewarm career at Alfa Romeo came to an end, but one suspects the anticipation over Andrea Kimi Antonelli transcends Giovinazzi by some magnitude…
Throwing Antonelli into his first FP1 session, announced on the stroke of the Mercedes junior’s 18th birthday, in place of George Russell was always going to capture attention. The Bolognese’s arrival in F1 has been hotly anticipated, given the rocket-like ascent through the junior categories. He’s been testing Mercedes’ W13 extensively, but now had his hands on contemporary machinery.
Rather than dial himself in slowly, he went for it from the off. His first lap was a 1m23.955s, something that set him to the top of the timesheets amid the opening flurry of runs. Lewis Hamilton then set a 1m23.350s, and Antonelli responded with a strong first sector and a purple middle sector.
Then came the ignominious end: Antonelli’s rear lost grip through the Parabolica and he skated across the gravel, shunting Russell’s W15 into the wall and causing a fair whack of damage. He accepted that he probably should have eased into the session, and Toto Wolff joked that Antonelli needed to learn the difference between FP1 and qualifying.
Had he matched his earlier third sector, he’d have set a 1m22.998s, which would have been up on Hamilton’s then-benchmark. Regardless, Antonelli’s signing for 2025 alongside Russell was confirmed the next day — Wolff noting that he’d rather have to slow down a driver than try to speed up a slower one.
6. Colapinto survives tyre management test
Colapinto enjoyed a clean race debut to finish 12th
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
On the back of his Zandvoort FP3 shunt and a decidedly anonymous race, Logan Sargeant was persona non grata at Williams. James Vowles decided to replace him and, despite rumours linking Liam Lawson and Mick Schumacher to the seat for the remainder of 2024, academy driver Franco Colapinto instead got the nod. Surprising? Perhaps — yet, Colapinto became the first Argentine to race in F1 since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001.
Colapinto had experience of the FW46 after an impressive FP1 for the team at Silverstone, and acquitted himself well throughout the trio of practice sessions. There was an off at the Parabolica at the end of FP1, but Colapinto continued to grow into the car and was ninth by the end of FP3.
He was disappointed in his qualifying performance, as he dipped a wheel onto the gravel out of the second Lesmo and ruined his final lap, but nonetheless impressed Williams with his diligence and work ethic throughout the weekend.
And, although he found the prospect of tyre management slightly daunting, Colapinto managed to pull it off with aplomb. Pulling off a one-stopper was a tough ask, but he managed to corral the hard tyres into doing a 37-lap stint and gathered track position over the Alpines and Stroll. He stayed within 10 seconds of Daniel Ricciardo to ensure he benefitted from the Australian’s penalty for clashing with Hulkenberg to move up to 12th.
«I am happy of course with the result, but mostly happy with the pace,» Colapinto said. «It was a question mark. I have never done more than eight laps in a row before this and today I have done 53. The engineers stayed with me during all the sessions, helped me a lot with the tools to keep the tyres under control, and it was very positive.»
7. Renault employee protest underlines discontent
Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon made themselves heard in the grandstands
Photo by: Anaël Bernier — Horizons Multiples
In the wake of Alpine’s decision to focus on becoming solely a chassis constructor and ditch its engine project, the ill-feeling at Renault’s Viry-Chatillon powertrain hub has escalated. The decision was made to move Renault’s staff onto other projects away from F1, with the team sizing up a switch to Mercedes powerplants for the 2026 regulations.
This prompted many of the employees based there to go on strike, while 100 staff members travelled to the Italian Grand Prix to display banners of protest against the decision.
«The aim of coming today is to be heard,» said turbocharger engineer Clement Gamberoni, who was among those at the Monza protest movement. «We have the feeling that we are not heard enough, and we are not putting our voice publicly.
«We are fully supporting the engine for 2026, the Alpine project in all its forms. But we think that Viry has a real purpose with F1. And without F1, Viry has no purpose.»
The argument also extends beyond concerns at Renault, as the decision to pull the plug on the engine project would effectively cease a lengthy spell of French manufacturer and constructor involvement in F1: Matra, Renault, and Peugeot have all supplied F1 engines in the last 50 years, while Ligier, Prost, AGS, and Larrousse have all been involved as constructors.
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8. F1 considers rookie sprint race at Abu Dhabi young driver test
Rookies like Hadjar could get a shot at contesting a sprint race in Abu Dhabi
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Beyond the current solution of blooding rookie drivers in F1 with mandated FP1 sessions, other methods have been considered to give young drivers more experience before they make the grid on a full-time basis. Unlimited testing prepared rookies adequately in days of yore, but the modern restrictions on running means that testing old cars is the only way for a young driver to gather mileage outside of a race weekend.
Additional practice sessions and even wildcard entries have been considered as options, but F1 is now considering a sprint race for rookie drivers to be held at the traditional Abu Dhabi young driver test. This would be preceded by a one-day test (presumably featuring a qualifying session) with the race held on the second day. However, there are logistical challenges involved — namely, an effective extension of labour on top of an already-gruelling 24-race calendar, and broadcast deals on top.
George Russell admitted that he liked the idea, stating that «unless you’ve had a lot of experience doing F1 tests, it’s very, very challenging [to come in for an FP1 session]» — noting that he was «thrown in at the deep end» in his maiden FP1 session for Force India in 2017. Max Verstappen was less enthused, stating that «I don’t think everyone is excited after the final race. Then to do another race on Tuesday. If you want to give rookies a chance, just put them in the car».
This will be subject to further discussions between the FIA and F1’s sporting directors to determine if the idea is viable.
Verstappen was unimpressed by suggestions of a sprint race for rookies in Abu Dhabi
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool