“IT’S ALMOST THERE, THIS WIN IS ALMOST THERE.”
“ACCELERATE ! ACCELERATE ! YES HE’S GONNA MAKE IT ! DON’T LET GO, HOLD ON!”
Julien Febreau’s words echoed through the commentary box. For the first time in his 15 year broadcasting career, he was seeing a fellow Frenchman lead through the final lap of the race. His rallies smothered over the silence in the track for Pierre Gasly, who had now crossed the iconic Ascari Chicane. The chequered flag was in sight. An entire nation was holding its breath. It had been a long exhausting wait. 24 years had passed since a French driver had triumphed in a race.
“PIERRE GASLY, WINNER OF THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX.”
Febreau announced, now struggling to fight back his tears. Those emotions represented a nation’s leap into jubilation. He then listed all the legendary Frenchmen who did the honor to grace this sport over the years. Pierre Gasly, being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Cevert, Prost, Pironi, and Alesi, had now secured a new page in the history books.
The 2020 Italian Grand Prix was indeed a special one. It encapsulated everything that formula one had to offer.
The race, which started like any other this year, eventually turned out to be a modern-day classic. A front-row lockout for both the Mercedes drivers after Lewis Hamilton set another record for the fastest lap ever at the qualifying track. Ferrari has yet another dismal qualifying session on their home track. The Ferrari drivers – Charles Leclerc, last year’s winner, and Sebastian Vettel, the four-time formula one champion, failing to reach Q3.
One could even argue that the absence of fans favored Ferrari as the fans could not have possibly spared them for such an atrocious performance.
Despite a predictable and mundane qualifying, the race was certainly eventful. And it didn’t take long for the fans to get to the edge of their seats. After a horrible start, Valtteri Bottas dropped from second to sixth before the first lap. Bottas never really recovered after that poor start and struggled in the middle throughout the entire race. Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, the unlikely Mclaren duo, were second and third. It sure was a welcome change for everyone who had been accustomed to seeing the Mercedes drivers kill the race after the first corner. Hamilton, however, was comfortably increasing his lead at the start.
At the back end of the track, Ferrari’s nightmare was starting to take shape. During lap six, Vettel had to retire due to brake failure in a rather dramatic fashion by smashing straight to the Chicane’s polystyrene barriers. Leclerc, too was unable to get a hold of the race fighting through the back of the race.
Vettel was joined in by Kevin Magnussen shortly after he had a power failure right at the start of the pitlane. Citing obstruction as the reason, the safety car was deployed. And here’s where things started to get interesting, Lewis Hamilton, who was the race leader at the time, and Antonio Giovinazzi made pit stops while the safety car was deployed, which was a direct violation of safety car regulations because Kevin Magnussen’s Hass obstructed the entrance to pit lane. It was a rare error from the Mercedes pit crew, which would later come to haunt them.
When the race resumed, Lance Stroll had moved to second place because he was the only driver who did not pit after the safety car was removed. Pierre Gasly had also moved to the third position after starting at the tenth.
For anyone who had thought, it couldn’t possibly get any worse for Ferrari and had to brace themselves when Charles Lecrec lost his steering control, crashing straight into the curve at parabolica. Ferrari were truly living a nightmare. As a result, the race was stopped, and we had our first red flag of the season.
Even the stoppage session was filled with drama, and such was this race. Stewards awarded Hamilton and Giovinazzi with 10 second stop-go penalty for their violations. Shortly after, we got to see a furious Lewis Hamilton ride a kick scooter on his way to the Stewards’ office to challenge the penalty. Quite a sight indeed. As you may imagine, it wasn’t enough to overturn the decision.
After a long pause, the race was restarted from the grid, each lining up at their respective positions before the red flag. Lewis Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi, both drivers who were awarded stop-go penalties, were on the front row. After the first lap, Hamilton served his penalty, which saw him leading the race to stumble to the last position, 28 seconds behind Alex Albon, struggling at the back end of the race. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly had swiftly taken over at the front end. He soon went on to complete his first lap as a race leader in formula one.
Right behind him, Kimi Räikkönen was showing glimpses of his 2007 self comfortably holding the second position. However, it didn’t last long. The 41-year-old former world champion was quickly dropped back to sixth after Sainz, Norris, and Stroll overtook him in successive laps. He eventually finished at 13.
During lap 31, Max Verstappen had to retire from the race due to engine failure, making it the fourth car of the afternoon to enter the pit. It was a rather disappointing race for red bull, where both of their drivers failed to finish with points after Alex Albon finished at 14.
Meantime at the top, we had three drivers in podium places who were yet to win their first Grand Prix. Leading the race: Pierre Gasly, inching ever so close to him with each passing lap: Carlos Sainz and seeking his first podium on Formula One: Lance Stroll. The possibility of crowning a brand new winner for the second year in a row in the Italian GP was now looking very likely.
Italian fans were still trying to get over such a forgetful performance from Ferrari at their home track. But seeing another home team lead the race must have sure lifted their spirits. Yes, it was a home race for Alfa Tauri too, which by no one’s surprise seemed to go under the radar. Previously known as Toro Rosso, Alfa Tauri were in their first year in the championship, and now they were on the verge of a massive upset.
Over the next few laps, Sainz closed the gap to Gasly by less than a second. There were only two laps to go, and Sainz was within the DRS interval. The race was heading towards a nail-biting finish. And what an end it was, Gasly had to defend each corner with all his might, and even then, Sainz was continually closing the gap. The victory was within touching distance yet seemed so far off.
After defending successfully through the last corner at parabolica, Gasly emerged victorious in this battle for glory, crossing the line just four hundreds of a second ahead of Sainz. Lance Stroll, claiming the first podium of his career, finished third. It was the first time since the 2013 Australian GP, a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari, or Red Bull, secured the top stop. And the first time since the 2009 Singapore GP, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all finished outside of the podium places.
The day belonged to Gasly. After being demoted by Red Bull for his poor performances mid-season a year ago to winning his first Grand Prix, he had come a long way. He was the only one sitting on the podium after the presentation. He was still trying to soak it all in. His victory was a testament to his drive and willpower. And also a fitting tribute to his childhood friend Antione Hubert who died in an accident at a spa in formula two, only a year ago. It was indeed an incredible victory for Gasly.