8. 2020 Italian GP: Gasly emerges from chaos as shock winner
There’s something about Toro Rosso and Monza. Despite being the home of Ferrari, Italy’s smaller Scuderia has sprung a few shocks with perhaps its biggest one coming, ironically, in front of no tifosi
Penny for your thoughts: a shocked Gasly contemplates his victory.
Getty Images
September 6, Monza
Some 12 years after Sebastian Vettel scored his astonishing victory for the then-Ferrari-powered team, Frenchman Pierre Gasly became the bloodline’s second shock winner, guiding his Honda-engined AlphaTauri through a crazy race and surviving a nail-biting finish.
Hamilton leads at the start
Getty Images
Albon tangles
Getty Images
Mercedes looked like continuing its hot streak as runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton lined up on pole. However, what followed was a race of drama and disruption. Hamilton looked to streak away from the twin McLarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, before home hopes were dented when Sebastian Vettel suffered a brake failure that sent him smashing through the Polystyrene boards at turn one. The race took its first turn when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas ground to a halt before pit entry. Mercedes pulled what it thought to be a masterstroke by immediately calling Hamilton in, however the safety car was deployed closing the pit entry just as the Briton peeled in, earning him a 10-second stop/go penalty.
“Some 12 years after Vettel’s astonishing victory, Gasly became the bloodline’s second shock winner in a crazy race”
The race was then halted after Charles Leclerc got a snap of oversteer coming out of the Parabolica and demolished the tyre barriers. Fortunately, he emerged uninjured, but it meant a full standing restart, and with race leader Hamilton yet to serve his penalty.
Gasly had worked his way up from 10th on the grid to run third. Cannily equipped with medium Pirellis for the restart he sliced past Lance Stroll’s Racing Point for second, which became the lead once Hamilton took his penalty.
Gasly celebrates
Getty Images
Stroll let it slip
Getty Images
With Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo acting as the cork in the bottle behind, Gasly escaped by a few seconds, before Sainz made his way past the Finn and began to slice into Gasly’s lead. What began as a three-second gap was within DRS range at the start of the final tour. Sainz got within a tenth into the first chicane, but Gasly just held on to snatch a famous win. RL
Results
1st Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri-Honda), 1hr 47min 06.056sec, 106.77mph
2nd Carlos Sainz (McLaren-Renault)
3rd Lance Stroll (Racing Point-BWT Mercedes)
Pole position Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1min 18.887sec, 164.26mph