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Follow the action from Monza right here
The second Formula 1 race of the weekend will take place this Sunday, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. We’ll be covering all the action from Italy here on his F1 live blog, as Max Verstappen starts on pole following Valtteri Bottas‘ grid penalty. Lewis Hamilton is down in fourth as he looks to collect valuable points in the 2021 Formula 1 championship.
This is the start of our Italian Grand Prix live blog, where we’ll have news from Monza ahead of the race and then we’ll also have lap-by-lap updates. As always on our MARCA In English live blogs, the entries nearest the top are the most recent.
What a race we’ve been treated to today. The party will be going long into the night down under, and certainly in the McLaren garage. It’s great to see that trademark giant Daniel Ricciardo smile again! The Russian Grand Prix comes next, in two weeks. See you all then for hopefully another classic F1 race.
It’s a mash of excitable sounds on the McLaren team radio, understandably so, as the teammates parade round side by side on the cool down lap. Ricciardo steps out of his car to beat his chest atop the Halo, then embraces Norris after the perfect day.
What a day for McLaren! Daniel Ricciardo‘s tough year has finally come good as he takes victory here at Monza. Lando Norris brings it home for his best result in F1 in second, with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium after an excellent drive from 19th on the grid. AMAZING!
Providing he keeps it on the grey stuff, Daniel Ricciardo is about to win his first race for McLaren and it will be the team’s first since Brazil 2012 with Jenson Button. A one-two for the Woking-based team is the dream result, with Norris is comfortably clear of the battle for third.
The long awaited return to the top step of the podium is almost over for McLaren. Ricciardo leads Norris by 1.5 seconds, with Perez almost two seconds further back. Bottas still can’t pass the Red Bull, but the penalty will promote the Finn onto the podium as it stands. Both Ferraris are due to jump Perez too but the Mexican is pushing to extend his gap to the Prancing Horses.
Ricciardo is told to go for it on the team radio and Norris is trying to go with him. They’ve just about got out of Perez‘s DRS who is still defending from Bottas who locks up into turn one, no harm done. Vettel has passed Kubica for 12th, meanwhile, and has caught Latifi in 11th.
There’s the gap McLaren wanted. Bottas attacks Perez into the second chicane, but he brakes too late and has a slow exit, allowing Perez to cut back underneath him. Mazepin has stopped his Haas at the Ascari chicane and he is out of the race, the virtual safety car is deployed to recover the stricken car.
Bottas has seemed to lose his forward momentum and is now stuck behind Perez. Norris asks his team if he should hold position. The answer is yes.
The stewrads have had their say on the Perez/Leclerc incident and it’s five seconds worth of time penalties for the Mexican, which will be added to his race time. That effectively promotes Bottas to the podium but he wants more. Ricciardo has enough pace to just get out of DRS of his teammate, who holds second.
Another place gained for the Finn, passing Leclerc down the main straight for fourth. He only has Perez and the two McLarens between him and the most unlikely victory, and the way he’s going, he could do this easily yet. Russell meanwhile is hanging onto ninth with more points on the table for Williams.
From 19th on the grid, Bottas passes Sainz for fifth and he looks very quick today having won the sprint 24 hours ago. Perez passes Leclerc off track at the second chicane and hasn’t given the place back.
We’re back racing! Leclerc just about holds off Norris into turn one but the Mercedes power of the McLaren sees the Brit into second through Curva Grande. It’s a McLaren one-two but there’s still Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas to factor in as they look to salvage their teams’ day.
Breathe folks, breathe. Slow motion replays make us so glad for the halo as Verstappen‘s car landed virtually on top of Hamilton. Great to see both drivers unharmed and walking away. The stewards, unsurprisingly, will review that after the race, but it should be a racing incident. All hopes are now pinned on the ‘second’ drivers.
Hamilton pitted for medium tyres but he came out side by side with Verstappen, neither gives an inch and they are both buried in the gravel at turn one! INCREDIBLE SCENES which leaves McLaren on for a potential one-two finish. Leclerc, Sainz, Perez and Bottas take thier pit stops and Leclerc is up to second with Norris third and Perez fourth thanks to the safety car!
The poor Red Bull pit stop allows Norris to pit and jump Verstappen, but the Dutchman will be fired up to get back into this race. Ricciardo passes Sainz into turn one for fourth on track.
Has the overcut worked? NO! It’s an awful pit stop from the pit stop kings. ELEVEN SECONDS he was stationary and he comes out behind Alonso. Meanwhile Hamilton has passed Norris to take the lead of the race! It’s all happening now.
As Bottas passes Stroll for eighth, Ricciardo pulls the trigger and pits to get out ahead of the Mercedes, and he does. What can Verstappen do on his worn medium tyres?
The leaders are all struggling on there medium tyres as they lose grip and this could be ideal for Hamilton on the hard tyres, but he is now out of DRS range of Norris. Ocon gets a five second penalty for the contact with Vettel, just as Giovinazzi did for the lap one incident.
Ocon‘s difficult Sunday continues as he tries to defend from Vettel, he drifts towards the outside and they bang wheels into the second chicane. Ocon could see a penalty for that while Norris has dropped five seconds off the leading duo, but Hamilton still can’t make a move.
Esteban Ocon looks to be sturggling in the Alpine having been passed by Latifi, Bottas easily breezes by into 11th. Any points the Finn can gain is a bonus. Hamilton is the closest he’s been to Norris but he still can’t get ahead of his compatriot.
The second Red Bull is moving forward now. Sergio Perez makes his way past Sainz into the second chicane which puts only Leclerc between him and Hamilton where he can begin to affect the drivers’ championship as the McLarens continue to hold up the title fighters.
Ricciardo has just over one second over Verstappen but the two of them have gapped Norris somewhat, and that is hurting Hamilton who cannot find a way past the McLaren, just like yesterday. Giovinazzi has a penalty for the incident with Sainz on the opening lap which all but ends his chances of points at his home race. The Bottas charge has been halted slightly with a DRS train forming behind Latifi in 11th.
Yuki Tsunoda didn’t take the start, and now Pierre Gasly has retired to the pit lane capping a dismal day for AlphaTauri. Bottas meanwhile continues his charge forward passing the man who will take his seat next year, George Russell, for 13th. The Sainz/Giovinazzi collision is being investigated but there’s no need for the same between Hamilton and Verstappen.
A brief virtual safety car to collect debris from the second chicane but it’s cleared swiftly by the Itaian marshalls and now DRS is enabled to encourage overtaking. Bottas has already cleared both Haas cars and Kubica on his hard tyres.
We’re underway and it’s Daniel Ricciardo who gets the best launch and leads the Italian Grand Prix! Hamilton gets a great start passing Norris but, as he challenges Verstappen for second, he gets forced wide and Norris gets back through into third. Further back Giovinazzi has contact with Sainz and collides with the barrier, breaking his front nose, such a shame for the home hero who has to pit after just one lap.
One of the best national anthems in the world done and we’ve got just five minutes to go until we are racing at the Temple of Speed, and the nerves may be kicking in for pole man Max Verstappen. He knows that the two McLarens behind him have nothing to lose in championship terms and a good start could see bold moves from the Papaya cars, but if Verstappen can lead out of the second chicane, he will fancy his chances of clearing off at the front.
Today may have to be one of those special performances from Lewis Hamilton and he certainly has the motivation after watching the remarkable Emma Raducanu win the US Open last night. “It was incredible to see her rise, the sheer focus that she has and her determination – she’s such a sweet person as well,” he said. “The UK has someone to be really proud of and I’m super proud of her as well. I can take inspiration from her today and I will try to do the country proud like she did last night.”
The cars are now on their reconnassaince laps with the ever-excitable Italian crowd giving them a great noise as they venture round Monza. Even if there’s only 50 percent attendance, you can always hear the Tifosi!
A fascinating race is just an hour away from lights out and there’s plenty to be intrigued by. Can Verstappen hold off the McLarens on the opening lap? Can Hamilton find a way past his former team? Will Ferrari or even Giovinazzi provide joy for the Tifosi? Where can Bottas get to from 19th on the grid? We’ll get answers to all of this and more this afternoon.
With a couple of hours to go until the start of the Italian Grand Prix, let’s have some predictions. You can have your say in our poll, predicting who you think will win this Sunday’s race.
Daniel Ricciardo will be starting in second place, just behind Max Verstappen. He and the Dutchman have shared the front row before, last doing so in Mexico back in 2018.
He may have won sprint qualifying on Saturday, but this has been a difficult week for Valtteri Bottas as it was publicly announced that he won’t be driving a Mercedes next season and then he lost pole position because of some power unit changes to his car. He’ll now start from the back of the grid.
Today’s Grand Prix will get going at 15:00 CEST local time. For those watching on from the United Kingdom, the race starts at 14:00 BST. For those on the east coast of the USA, that’s 09:00 EDT. The below graphic also outlines some of the other Italian Grand Prix start times from around the world.
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