To start the 2022 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari bookended the field, Charles Leclerc on an emotional pole position and Carlos Sainz down in 18th place, one of many to take a grid penalty at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
At the checkered flag, they ended up much closer together in second and fourth, respectively. but as has been so common this year, the Scuderia will be wondering exactly where it all went wrong.
While the history books will show Leclerc leading double-digit laps from the pole, after Max Verstappen got a lightning start to put the Dutchman onto the podium by the end of the first lap, it never truly looked like red cars had the speed to beat him.
With Verstappen closing in for the lead, Ferrari took advantage of a lap 12 virtual safety car to pit Leclerc for Pirelli mediums, dropping the Monegasque to third.
LAP 13/53
Leclerc pits for medium tyres, Verstappen stays out on track and now leads the race#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZxccMLNcIU
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2022
Fourteen laps later, Verstappen hit pit road for mediums, dropping to second behind Leclerc, but with superior tires. The defending world champion closed in quickly, forcing Ferrari’s hand.
With 20 laps remaining, the writing was on the wall, and the Ferrari pit wall called leader Leclerc into the pits, outfitting the No. 16 with red-walled Pirelli soft tires. Reentering the track nearly 20 seconds behind Verstappen, Leclerc needed to be faster by a second per lap if he wanted to win in front of the Tifosi.
On old mediums against Leclerc’s fresh soft tires, Verstappen was four-tenths faster. That was it. To add insult to injury, an engine failure on Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren forced the race to end under the safety car.
A spot of brightness was Sainz, who scythed his way through the field in the opening stint. It took only six laps for the Spaniard to enter the points positions, and a further six circuits later he cracked the top five.
The next time around, he rocketed past Ricciardo into the Ascari chicane to claim fourth.
LAP 14/53
Sainz is having a mighty race 💪
The Spaniard picks off Ricciardo and is up to P4 – he started P18! 😮#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/MWHPkLBqrJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2022
And then, nothing. Despite running third during the pit stop exchange, briefly ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, Ferrari left Sainz out long, hoping to switch to softs late on an unusual interpretation of…
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