Italy – French Speakers’ Report: Leclerc Saves Ferrari, Grosjean Behind Williams

Charles Leclerc: Victory (pole position)

Leclerc delivered a perfect race, mirroring his pole position, his start, and his solo battle against two Mercedes. On the 12th of the 53 laps of the Italian Grand Prix, the Brit announces a possible tire degradation for the Ferrari driver and a potential attack to reclaim 1st place, but nothing comes of it for him or his garage neighbor.

Having withstood the full brunt of attacks from Lewis Hamilton and to a lesser extent Valtteri Bottas, the Monegasque driver today brought smiles back to the tifosi, 9 years later, and proved that it was time to change the driver’s hierarchy within the Italian team.

As a reminder, the Monegasque driver did not, this time, and unlike the race in Belgium, benefit from the support of the second Ferrari car, as Vettel made a mistake at the Ascari turn. To make matters worse, the German received a 10-second penalty for his dangerous return to the track.

YEEEESSSS! TWO IN A ROW 😍 GRANDE CHARLES!

CHARLES LECLERC VINCE IL GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 🇮🇹 @Charles_Leclerc takes the #ItalianGP 🏁 flag!#essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/2GMaiElDiL

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 8 septembre 2019

Pierre Gasly: 11th (17th on the grid)

For the former Red Bull driver, this Grand Prix is not necessarily one he could have had great expectations for. Penalized for his power unit change, he started from 17th place and managed to make his medium tires last until the final laps of the race before putting on the “Soft” tires.

Gasly had a big scare when he found Lance Stroll on his path blocking the track on the 6th lap. The Canadian driver made a dangerous return to the track after his incident with Vettel. By finishing in 11th place, just one spot away from scoring points, Pierre Gasly can be pleased with a solid race where he allowed a Toro Rosso car to finish the race after Kvyat’s retirement.

LAP 7/53

Vettel loses control at Turn Nine, and collides with Stroll as he returns

And then Stroll comes close to colliding with Gasly as he gets back on the track#F1 #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/zZCViHSN98

— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 septembre 2019

Romain Grosjean: 16th (13th on the grid)

If Romain Grosjean was under pressure before the race, as there is still great uncertainty surrounding his presence in a Formula 1 car next year, the race in Monza won’t have helped anything.

Stopped short in Q1, in 16th place, he managed to gain 3 places following the penalties received by Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly for power unit changes and Kimi Räikkönen for gearbox change after his off-track excursion during qualifying the previous day.

In a race from the back of the grid, after which he finished behind Russell’s Williams, the French driver made an early pit stop on the 8th lap after making a mistake and spinning at the Ascari chicane.

Like many others this year, this race is one to forget both for the French driver and for the Haas team, which also saw the retirement of the other car, number 20, driven by Kevin Magnussen.