2024 F1 Italian GP analysis by Peter Windsor

nothing like a Ferrari win at Monza well to bring tears to your eyes I was actually a little bit teary eyed as the anthems were played as he looked into the face of charl L clerk on the podium what a win for charl and Ferrari today congratulations to the whole team Freddy vaser downwards all the guys in Charles garage and also for Carlos S as well who drove very well and took some time out of Landon Norris in the back end of the race as well which was definitely very effective too so I think we can look at this spr from two angles one is the Brilliance of the job done today by Charlotte Clerk and how well he drove from the beginning of the race right through to the end under enormous pressure on Old hard tires and I think we can also look at it from the Viewpoint of McLaren of how not to win the Italian Grand Prix let's talk about that first because I think that then clears the plate for us to look at the quality of of Charlotte cler's drive because I said yesterday and I still stand by that in the video after qualifying that this was an easy win potentially for McLaren Mercedes assuming they didn't have any mechanical dramas it looked to be an easy day in the office for Lando Norris backed up by his teammate Oscar piastri obviously there were going to be question marks the first was going to be How well was Lando going to get off the line bearing in mind he hasn't been a brilliant starter of late but that was no problem he did get off the line well and he did lead into turn one Oscar piasy was pretty near him but that was no problem bit of a skirmish behind with George Russell and and Oscar squeezing out out George in a fairly aggressive way but he got away with it no stewards inquiry afterwards so land's now accelerating out of the first chicane Oscar's behind him George Russell's had to go up the Escape road with a damaged front Wing so he's out of the out of the race already in terms of contention now they're accelerating down towards the second chicane and and my thought I don't know what everybody else was thinking my thought was well job done this is going to be Landon Norris's day at Monza but going into the second chicane he break relatively early I suppose you could say full tank of fuel brakes not 100% hot tires not 100% hot and around the outside goes Oscar piastri the second time that Lando found himself in a position of having to do something to avoid Oscar okay it was a second Corner if you like turn three in reality I suppose given the numbering system at Monza now but a little bit like Hungary where he had to move worldwide to avoid Oscar as he went down the inside going into turn one in Hungary here it was Oscar on the outside and you can see Lando was completely shocked completely caught by surprise Oscar going round the outside and Lando having to give the steering more left lock the back end came out he held it really nicely and Oscar managed to keep it on the track and Oscar took the lead of the Italian Grand Prix I mean what was that all about what was the risk that was worth taking at that stage of the race with Landon Norris on the pole and having LED out of the first corner you would imagine that McLaren again would have had some sort of management control of the drivers certainly in the early laps and certainly on an outside pass into the second chicane with nothing really yet up to temperature now at this point I got to say from Oscar pastry's point of view what a racer what a move cannot criticize him in any way obviously there was nobody at McLaren to say don't race Lando on the on the first lap around the outside don't put the cars in Risk nobody was there to say it to him so he went out and he did what a racing driver is supposed to do it was a really good move from his point of view from Lando's point of view it was a scary move and it looked like he was Shell Shocked after that and it took away a lot of the Wind from Lando's race straight away because then he was not only behind Oscar piastri which is obviously a drama for him but he was now behind Charlotte cler because in getting the car back together Lando was slow out of the second chicane Charlotte clerk absolutely superb in find in seeing a tiny Gap and getting the lead going into the first lesmo and now it was Charlotte clerk between the two McLaren Mercedes drivers which was not a good situation of course because even if they were going to start thinking of applying team orders at the back end of the race given Lando relatively strong position in the driver Championship now they wouldn't have been able to do it if Charlotte clerk was anywhere near them because you can't play around with with placings on the track with Team orders if you've got a red Ferrari anywhere near you at Monza so now was Oscar piastri Charlotte Clerk and Landon noris and at this point Charlotte clerk was absolutely outstanding I thought and I suppose we can we can switch from Charles Point Charles race to the McLaren race sh was outstanding at this point because gradually everybody fell away from one another except for Charlotte clerk who for 14 laps managed to stay in the DRS of Oscar piastri and that of course meant that it was a relatively easy first phase for Charlotte clerk on the medium tires in which they'd all started apart from Max and and cure Perez had taking a bit of a gamble to start on the hard tire and the Red Bull but everybody else on medium tires and charlott cler at this stage of the race was able to massage the tires quite well because as we said yesterday had an innately Superior top speed to the McLarens by about 3 km an hour and RS that gave him a comfortable margin to be able to sit there and look after the tires even if he was in the turbulence of Oscar piastra it was certainly enough to keep him comprehensively ahead of Lando Norris and started to pull away from Lando that was a defining stage of the race of course because from McLaren's point of view it wasn't just Oscar and Lando and how it was going to work out it was also Oscar Lando and let's put Charlotte clerk in the Ferrari in there as well who was the first to Blink because basically on paper this was still going to be a One-Stop strategy race well it was Lando Norris he'd got into the DRS of Charlotte clerk around lap 15 as the tires on the Ferrari started to go away and that was an indication that the McLaren for sure was a better car for the Italian Grand Prix it was better able to look after its tires and for both drivers there was that bigger Sweet Spot about which we spoke yesterday and at this point of the race Oscar pastri had no real issues at all with his tire or his balance or graining and was pulling away from from charl the clerk Lando had one go to get past charl couldn't do it r wide coming out of the lesmos and then they decided to bring him in immediately afterwards a lap later they brought charlin to cover Lando noris which made charl angry again because he then had lost position in the pit stop and I I think he was trying to say on the radio what was the point of me covering him if he was going to be in front of me anyway it would have been better for me to have stayed out and tried to do a couple more laps flat out on those old hard medium tires anyway he was now in P3 and he thought well now it's going to be now it's going to be a McLaren one two be interesting to see how they do it whether Oscar is allowed to win or whether Lando uh can pull away from Charlotte Clerk and it'll be Lando noris from oscar piastri but they didn't do that they they were controlling the race if we look at the race now from lap 25 when Oscars now made his pit stop as well and all of them are on new hard tires but obviously Oscars are the newest of the three if you if the three are Oscar pastri Lando Norris and Charlotte clerk so Oscar pastri now leading the race from Lando Norris looks like it's his day at Monza and at this point you would have thought that the McLaren team would have said to both drivers well look what happens with 10 laps to go at this point look after the tires we've got to go for a One-Stop strategy because we cannot assume that Ferrari won't try and do the same so look after the tires don't race one another and what did they do they race one another trading fastest laps at that critical stage of the race and let's look at the lap times let's look at the lap times of what they're doing from say lap 25 to lap 33 Charlotte clerk 235 233 235 233 232 unbelievably consistent but remember he was in the DRS of Lando Norris 234 240 233 232 look at Oscar piastri 232 all he needed to be doing was mid 23s this is what he's actually doing 231 23 0 232 231 23 0 232 I'm actually rounding that to a 10 he was doing a 229 in there setting fastest lap of the race and then Lando responding to that two laps later Lando also in the low 23s and it was at that point that the McLaren drivers started to overuse the left fronts of their tires and indeed Lando on lap 20 on lap 31 is saying I cannot believe how we managed to kill the left front tire well that's happening because what's happening to Lando sooner that's happening to Oscar piastri because Lando is not a short Corner driver he does most of his breaking in a straight line he does have relatively late turn in and he does make the corners a little bit longer he leans on that left front therefore more than Oscar piastri more than Charlotte clerk for sure and that's why his left front went off first Oscar pastry's left front went away because he was pushing the car pretty much to the Limit and Charlotte clerk by contrast was able to not only be in the DRS but he was looking after the tires with an amazing display of short Corner motoring particularly through the lesmos particularly through the parabolica where he was massaging the car with Incredible manipulation and not loading the left front in the way the two McLarens were so here's another point if Lando and Oscar are prone to be leaning on the left front even more reason for the McLaren management to be telling him to take it easy because that left front was always going to be a critical part of the package at monzo in terms of graining they were on the soft compound tires remember and it was a pretty hot day at Monza so McLaren Now by lap 33 left with no option but to start thinking of a two-stop strategy and to bring in first Lando for a new set of hards and then Oscar piastri hoping that or assuming I think at this point not even hoping just assuming that Ferrari would be doing the same and that if they didn't they'd be so slow towards the end of the race they would be easy to repass but of course that was well underplaying the job that Charlotte clerk was able to do in that Ferrari and drive around the problems that may occur with the left front as Lewis Hamilton would have in that situation as Max ven would in that situation that's why I've always said that there are three drivers on the top in Formula 1 right now and they are those three L clerk the STA and and Hamilton and it's because they can manipulate the car around problems like a graining left front or protecting the graining of the left front caros SS couldn't do it he drove really well but his Corners as we've said are even longer than Lando Norris's and Oscar piastri couldn't do it because he was so quick because he was absolutely on the limit of the car and that was the problem he he was more able to look after after that left front but he shouldn't have been racing he shouldn't have been pushing the car that hard at that middle stage of the race and that's what did the damage after the second pit stops there was no chance of McLaren then beating charlot clerk providing the hard tires on Charlotte Clerk's car didn't just fall off the cliff because sh was always going to be able to massage the lap times around the 23s he was always going to be able to protect a gap that he took through to the finish and it was just a wonderful display of driving wonderful display of how one of the best three drivers in the world who is a short Corner driver who does manipulate the car with Incredible finesse particularly with footwork but also handwork was able to do that around Monza where there aren't that many corners anyway but I should add that don't forget Ferrari also had a slight but significant top speed Advantage as well there was a lot of talk after the race as there always is about the upgrades on the Ferrari the reality is the Ferrari didn't have the same amount of downforce for the same relative top speed as the m around Monza the McLaren was the better car and it should have won that Italian Grand Prix it was just a poorly managed Race by McLaren can't really blame the drivers because they weren't really given any sort of control I mean there was one moment when Lando was in P2 and and Oscar was in in the lead and they said to Lando something like papaya rules but you can race Oscar I mean well that's good of him I mean the guy was on the poll he's he's a potential Championship Contender what did they expect him to do how can this is the same thing that Christian hor used to say to Mark Weber and Sebastian vle race one another but look after the cars don't touch one another I mean what does it mean there's no way in the world that Lon Norris could make a clean pass on Oscar piastri in the Italian Grand Prix with the team thinking oh yeah this is fine they're racing the boys are racing the cars are going to be okay the only way is for is is to be telling Oscar to give position to landonis and quite clearly they were not going to do that so to me it was a mismanaged race by McLaren they should have won won that race they had the best car they certainly had the best start but it all went wrong I think on lap one when they took the wind out of the sales of Lando Norris and after that it was always going to be a drama with with Charlotte clerk driving as well as he was and the left front being as critical as it was and again a question why McLaren would want to have so much risk taken on that early lap in that second chicane it's very very narrow going in there and those two guys could very easily have touched at that second chicane it's absolutely extraord to me that given how well they'd gone in qualifying and how good their car was at Monza that they didn't win that Italian Grand Prix and to me it all happened on that second chican um so no wonder Lon Norris at the end of the race yeah he did a good job when he was being interviewed because I think he was in kind of shell shock mode of not really understanding what had happened second time that Oscar sort of you know elbowed his way past and Lando doesn't really know how to handle that it would appear and he needs to toughen up because this will continue if he doesn't get on top of it and on top of that of course the answer to Lando's question as to why he was killing his left front so quickly is because these Corners aren't as short as those of Oscar piastri and and and to create those short Corners you've got to have a manipulation factor in your driving at the moment Lando is still a little bit locked into breaking in a straight line and then being incredibly good with his power application and the steering application but not managing the car with a brake pedal as well going into the corners and that's the problem he got I've always said that's going to be the problem he's always going to have with with Oscar piastri I'm not sure that Lando sees it that way and I'm sure he doesn't because he just sees it that he's a great racing driver as he should and that for some reason his car was eating through the left front but the reality is it is because of the way he drives for sure around Monza one really good thing that he does as I said yesterday his DNA almost is this ability to come off the brakes and the throttle when he needs to just going into a corner but that doesn't add up to the same sort of manipulation that Charlotte clerk is doing to the car at that moment it's Lando's response to that and in qualifying on one lap it works extremely well but over a race distance it's still better to be manipulating the front with releasing brake pedal pressure against steering load than it is just to be letting the car float it's reacting to the variables in the race that is the key and of course the variable in this race was the graining lift front and that's why Charlotte clerk was able to do such a good job because out of of those three and they were the only three cars in contention from that one out of those three Charlotte clerk Head and Shoulders is the best short Corner minip driver out there just superb and he made no mistakes well he made one mistake I think ran a bit wide at one point but he was just brilliant and what I couldn't believe actually was how his hair wasn't even wet when he took off his balac clava still dry which is a sure sign that he's just been totally under control there were a couple of moments there was a moment in qualifying actually when when sha got a bit shiry with his race engineer and he got shiry again towards the end when they were giving some advice on what break balance to run and it was like don't tell me how to run the cockpit I'm in control I know what I'm doing and that's fair enough I think you know Ferrari get that response from Charlotte clerk it's probably quite a good thing because he's telling himself that he's in control and it's quite nice thing and I think a lot of credit here should go to jock CLE on his side of the garage and the job he's done with with charl because there have been some dodgy moments obviously and he is very emotional and since Monaco it's been a relatively difficult time with charl not really understanding what's been going wrong I think he's been overdriving myself and and just trying too hard and they've managed to get him back to the point where he's just Sublime again just beautiful to watch I don't think any racing driver on Earth could have done a better job than charlot clerk today and I I'll go further I can't think of many drivers I mean maybe one or two in this picture here looks like Jim Clark there 63 I think Jimmy would have been very very pleased with the race that Charlotte clerk did today he would have been honored to to have driven that race I think as good as Jimmy's Drive was at Monza in ' 67 Charlotte clerks was right up there I think with that with the quality of that Clark Drive and there' have been plenty of others at Monza as well but they don't come any better than what we saw today from charlott clerk so yeah just wonderful to see wonderful to see the tifosi the crowd the fans the red the packed straight isn't it wonderful the way at Monza they just open the floodgates and the crowd just come in as they should you know it's a Ferrari win and charlott clerk what a hero two great anthems as well the Monaco and Italian anthems both very emotional and in the green room after before the podium again you know Lando to me look shell shocked and and I you know he for sure he wanted to say some things to Oscar piastri and he and he didn't and he wouldn't there anyway he's too good a bloke and and he probably may not anyway he's too nice a guy and as we said before he needs to toughen up because you know he should have he should have won the Hungarian Grand Prix and there's no way in the world that Oscar piastri should really have passed him g into the second chicane on the opening lap so you know I feel for Lando but he needs to toughen up and what the sit given the situation that McLaren obviously are running there where it's just pure racing I mean in a way you got to say hats off to Zack Brown because and and he's probably saying well you know we gave it a good shot we were harder on the tires bit of a surprise because we look so so good maybe he should have done a bit more full tank running in practice whatever but we had a great race the two boys were wonderful but I think he should be I think the reality is McLaren should have won that race and Zach being the racer he probably thinks oh it was a great race anyway no Z but I think they should have won it I think they had the car and the team and the boys to win it and and it and it just went away because it wasn't enough control there wasn't enough control on that opening lap there wasn't enough control after the first pit stops and the way they looked after their tires and thought about the end of the race I mean and and just reiterating that point there was absolutely no downside in Oscar pastri and Lando but let's say Oscar uh driving a second slower than he was and looking after the tires because if he had done that and let's say Charlotte clerk had got near him pushing hard and maybe got the lead at that point what was going to happen if Oscar was either going to then do a One Stop strategy or he was going to make his pit stop but Charlotte clerk would then have had to have made another pit stop because would have been pushing his car a lot harder and and so there was absolutely no downside in telling Oscar to drive a second a lap slower on those new tires and look after them and think about the end of the race I don't know why they didn't do that I'm still absolutely astonished that they didn't win that gr Prix but I'm delighted Ferrari did I'm delighted charlot clerk did let's have a look at some of the other results that's very good drive by Carlos SS again you know being the sort of driver he is right on the edge wider turn in leaning on the left front more SL slightly more aggressive with throttle he was never going to make the tires last as well as charl did but he did a very good job nonetheless to finish fourth and fifth was Lewis Hamilton had a pretty lonely race had a few moments in DRS and traffic but not a very impressive performance by Mercedes today quantifiably slower than Ferrari over the race distance and enough just to beat Red Bull but that doesn't say much today which actually says a lot about the performance of Red Bull Honda Max did a good job I think got everything out of the car from his point of view his personal point of view if you're thinking about the championship not a bad day of damage limitation as well he got a few points and Charlotte Clerk and Oscar pastri took points away from Landon Norris obviously Max's closest Contender for the championship so from Max's point of view that could have been a much worse day and it was also colored by a clipping problem with the engine they lost power for quite a lot of the race Max was down at 317 318 top speed before though towards the end of the race they were able to give him 338 or there about 338 339 but a lot of time when Max could have been closing on Louis Hamilton was lost because he was down on power so there's another thing you could say there if you're going to have a race when you got that power problem in the engine and he is so slow in a straight line then maybe have it in a race where you know you're not going to be in the top three anyway but having said that you know they've gone through an additional engine already and now this power loss in the Italian Grand Prix you got to start worrying a little bit about the Honda power train situation their Red Bull power train but anyway we'll see going forward that they said that was a clipping problem whether that was a chronic thing is a chronic Thing Remains to be seen of course and then some other very good drives George Russell drove extremely well having to stop for a new nose early on obviously losing a lot of time to finish seventh uh behind Max for stappen and passing in the late phase of the race Serio Perez who went through his medium tires uh much more than than Max did purely because of the way he drives you know he's much harder on the left front than Max but he looked pretty good mid- race he was he was staying with Max on the hard tires but when they got the mediums on um Serio just fell away that is a question of of style I think in my opinion Kevin Magnuson drove really well had a 10-second penalty still finished ninth might have been eighth without that drove very well in the house Ferrari to score points and Alex albon Justified the speed of the Williams Mercedes in qualifying to take the final Point 10th place but a big shout out should go to Franco kapino who finished 13th in his debut for the Williams Mercedes team very good drive by Franco as well um ahead of estan oan Lance stroll Pierre gazley and beaten only by Fernando Alonzo and Daniel Ricardo so he can go home thinking he did an extremely good job so well done to frankco kapino but this race above all will be remembered for two things McLaren not winning a race they should have won and Charlotte clerk at his absolute sueme Supreme best on Ferrari's home soil winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza if you're only going to win two Grand Prix in the year and this is I'm not saying that Char won't win any more races if you're going to win two races let them be Monaco and Monza if you are a Ferrari driver wow what a what a pairing that is what a double header for Charlotte clerk so excellent drive by him excellent race all around again very short very fast race we had in Monza no safety car interventions again very good to see no virtual safety cars either just a straight Race fast race it was a race defined by emotions it was a race defined by a lack of control management and it was a race defined by the Brilliance of Charlotte Clerk and the way he could nurse that left front on very very used hard parelli tires just a superb performance by him superb day at the races I think everybody who was there would an agree over 300,000 people and certainly from where we sat it was an astonishing day as well one to remember a big thanks to jetcraft Big thanks to OEM exclusive and a big thanks to track Ninja for their support of this Channel and to you the fans what a day it's been next race Baku Bring It On see you then [Music] this [Music] [Music]