Ricciardo Returns to Winning Ways in Italy

One lap later and it was Max's turn to pit in. With the Red Bull pit crew usually being bulletproof, it looked likely to be 50/50 for who would be the net race leader. Not this time, though, and an excruciatingly slow pit stop of 11s put Verstappen right down the order. It would prove to be a fateful mistake from Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton was the next of the leaders to pit in, despite finally getting past Lando Norris after many laps of trying. A steady stop from the Mercedes pit crew saw him re-emerge next to Verstappen on track. The reigning champion veered left to keep his new second-place position. Hamilton was on the colder tires and seemingly hyperaware of who it was he was defending P2 from. The Brit left just enough space in the first half of the Rettifilio chicane for Verstappen to feed into. But then, with Red Bull now alongside the Mercedes, there was only space enough for one car in the second corner, and both men attempted to take it.

Verstappen bundled across the high inside curb, bouncing onto Hamilton's Mercedes, and terrifyingly scraped across the roll hoop of his competitor. Thankfully both the roll hoop and the halo did their job, and the Red Bull rear wheel was kept above Hamilton's helmet, rather than landing on it. The two men were out, stranded in the gravel trap, to add even more fuel to the already bitter Verstappen vs. Hamilton rivalry at their second fateful coming together this year.

The resulting Safety Car saw everyone who was yet to pit dive in for a 'free' stop. Charles Leclerc was the primary beneficiary of the Safety Car's timing and had jumped up to second place behind Ricciardo. After a lengthy slowdown to recover the two crashed cars, Ricciardo showed he still knew how to lead a race by galloping away on the race's restart.

Lando Norris, again in third place, but now behind Ricciardo and Leclerc rather than Ricciardo and Verstappen, knew this was a crucial time. The highly-rated McLaren youngster wasted no time by closing up to Leclerc at the first chicane. Norris was right on the tail of Ferrari into Curva Grande, took to the inside of the Ferrari, and made a high-speed pass, even taking some grass as he did. It was a brave move, but it paid off, and the McLaren had the position by the next braking zone to put the two McLaren drivers into first and second places.

The now leading team looked to be uncatchable thanks to their pace advantage over the chasing Ferraris. However, there was one thorn in their side – the recovering Valtteri Bottas. The sole remaining Mercedes continued his best-of-the-field pace to dispatch any midfielders who dared to pass him in the Safety Car pit stops before turning his attention to the pair of Ferraris.

Although the Scuderia had found some speed for their home race, they never had any realistic possibility of troubling the fastest cars at Monza. Sergio Perez, who was running in P5, clumsily took Charles Leclerc thanks to cutting the corner exit at della Roggia. The Mexican driver neglected to give the position back despite completing the pass off of the racetrack, a decision that would cost him a 5-second penalty. In contrast, Bottas needed no extra room to ease past Carlos Sainz and then Charles Leclerc to be staring at the top three.

With Bottas fast approaching, the McLaren pit wall knew their lap times weren't quick enough to win the race and hurriedly warned both their drivers that they'd need to be going flat out to stay in the lead. Yet, although Bottas was taking a second per lap off the top three, his progress faltered once he reached the Red Bull of Perez. Some initial probes looked like he might squeeze past, but try as he may, he could not find a way. A few laps in the Red Bull's dirty air was enough to halt Bottas, who seemed to settle for a third-place finish, with Checo Perez's 5-second penalty dropping the Mexican off the podium places.

With no other overtakes for the top positions, a jubilant Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line to record the first 1-2 finish by any constructor in 2021, and McLaren's first win since 2012. Lando Norris notched up his career-best result in P2 and looked delighted to take the silver medal rather than dejected at not making the top step. Valtteri Bottas joined the two McLaren men on the podium after a spirited fight from last place to complete a Mercedes-powered top three in the home of Ferrari. A thrilling end to a second triple-header of races in an F1 season that is consistently delivering top drawer entertainment.