Monza – Syndication Server

Italian GP to stay at Monza until 2031

Formula 1 has announced the Italian Grand Prix will remain at Monza until at least the 2031 season. Monza’s previous contract was due to expire after next year’s race, but a new six-year extension has been agreed that will retain its place on the …

Formula 1 has announced the Italian Grand Prix will remain at Monza until at least the 2031 season.

Monza’s previous contract was due to expire after next year’s race, but a new six-year extension has been agreed that will retain its place on the calendar. F1 says the sport is seeing continued strong growth in Italy, citing a cumulative broadcast audience of 183.3 million in 2023, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the passionate fan base is central to the sport.

“I am delighted that the Italian Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until 2031,” Domenicali said. “Monza is at the very heart of Formula 1 history and the atmosphere each year is unique as the Tifosi gather in huge numbers to cheer on Ferrari and the drivers.

“The recent upgrades to the circuit’s infrastructure and the planned investment show a strong commitment to the long-term future of Formula 1 in Italy, and I want to thank the president of the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), the Italian Government, and the Lombardy Region for their continued passion and commitment to our sport. I also want to pay tribute to our incredible fans across the country who support Formula 1 so passionately.”

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ACI president Angelo Sticchi Damiani says the commitment to F1 was shown by recent remedial work, and that Monza will not only rely on its history to guarantee a place on the calendar.

“It’s a great honor for us, the Automobile Club of Italy, to have succeeded in guaranteeing the hosting of six more Italian Grand Prix F1 seasons at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza after 2025,” Sticchi Damiani said. “We must thank the valuable and decisive contribution of the current president and CEO of Formula 1 Group, Stefano Domenicali, who made this contract extension possible.

“Much as we should, certainly, thank the Italian Government, the Lombardy Region, and all the local institutions that have allowed the Italian Grand Prix to attract, during the last editions, an ever-increasing number of enthusiastic fans. In particular, I want to emphasize the key contribution of the Italian Government and the Lombardy Region, which have invested resources in this centenarian circuit and funded the works carried out this year.

“As we all know, Monza is the oldest racetrack in the world to host a race of the world championship, and it is also the longest-running event on the world championship calendar. We are all aware that history is no longer enough.

“Following the resurfacing of the track and underpasses to improve the safety on track and for the fans, we are now faced with a new challenge in 2025: improving the quality and quantity of hospitality offerings. With this goal in mind, we are already working to keep ahead of the standards required by modern Formula 1.”

Monza’s contract extension follows recent new deals for Monaco and Canada, that also came with date changes for those races.

McLaren’s Monza approach a happy surprise for Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says he was surprised by McLaren’s approach to the Italian Grand Prix that opened the door for Charles Leclerc to take victory. Leclerc had already taken advantage of the two McLarens fighting on the first lap to …

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says he was surprised by McLaren’s approach to the Italian Grand Prix that opened the door for Charles Leclerc to take victory.

Leclerc had already taken advantage of the two McLarens fighting on the first lap to overtake Lando Norris for second place, but the pace of the first stint also caught Ferrari out because it was targeting a one-stop strategy. Pitting Leclerc early to respond to Norris’ first pit stop could have changed that approach, but Vasseur says it soon became clear Ferrari could still run to the end and secure a famous win.

“I’m trying on the pit wall to avoid thinking about if it’s possible or not,” Vasseur said. “We are managing the gap, we are giving target lap times to the drivers and not thinking too much if it’s possible or not.

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“But it’s true that the race was quite strange because we started aiming for one stop and then McLaren pushed a bit more than expected in the first stint. And then Norris struggled before us and he had to pit, we wanted to cover him and to stay in the same race as them because we had the feeling at this stage that we had an advantage on the tires.

“But the advantage was so good that after 10 laps with the hard [tire] it was clear for us that we could go until the end. Then you never know, because you can have a cliff at one stage. But it was not the case and it was pretty well managed by the two guys, and at the end of the day they were able to achieve the target lap time each lap and very consistently.

“We are doing the calculation on what we could give up to Piastri each lap and to fix some target to Charles, and only in the last lap I said, ‘OK now we are safe’, because for the last lap we had something like four seconds and then you start to think about reliability. But we try to stay focused – it’s not always easy but it’s the most important thing to do and not to think too much about the podium, because that is a mistake.”

As much as Vasseur was trying to avoid emotions during the race itself, he says Monza is one of the most important races for Ferrari to win even if the points return is the same.

“For sure, it’s a good one,” he said. “For Ferrari and for Charles to win in Monaco, to win in Monza, I think probably with Imola they’re the two or three that you want to take in the season. But it’s more emotional than mathematical at the end of the day, you are [not] scoring more points in Monza than in Baku – mathematically speaking it’s a win.

“Emotionally speaking, for sure it’s very important because we had huge support from the beginning of the week, from the tifosi. Starting on Monday at the factory in Maranello, we had hundreds of people in front of the entrance, and the best way to pay them back was to win.

“It’s not ever easy, it’s not always under control, but it was the best way for the team to pay back everyone for their support.”

‘Where is the logic?’ Magnussen fumes over Monza penalty

Kevin Magnussen was left “flat out, just completely confused” by the penalty he received in the Italian Grand Prix that triggered a race ban. The Haas driver attempted to overtake Pierre Gasly into the second chicane, but locked up and the pair …

Kevin Magnussen was left “flat out, just completely confused” by the penalty he received in the Italian Grand Prix that triggered a race ban.

The Haas driver attempted to overtake Pierre Gasly into the second chicane, but locked up and the pair banged wheels, both running wide and continuing. Magnussen was handed a 10s time penalty for causing a collision, with the standard two penalty points that came with it taking him to a total of 12 and triggered a one-race suspension for the next event in Baku.

“I’m frustrated about the penalty — I don’t understand it at all,” Magnussen said. “Flat out, just completely confused. We raced hard into Turn 4, we had slight contact and we both missed the corner, we came back on track again, no damage to either car, no consequence in the race for either of us and I get a 10s penalty.

“Then lap one, [Daniel] Ricciardo and Nico [Hulkenberg]… Ricciardo put Nico on the grass at 300kmh, completely destroyed Nico’s race, massive consequence and damage to Nico’s car and he gets a 5s penalty. Where is the logic? I just don’t get it.”

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The time penalty still didn’t demote Magnussen out of the points, dropping him from ninth to 10th, just 0.1s ahead of Fernando Alonso in the final classification. As he was speaking immediately after getting out of the car, he admitted he hadn’t seen the official document from the stewards yet confirming his ban, but had been true to his word that he wouldn’t change the way he raced in order to try and get the best result.

“I only know I have the two points from you; I haven’t heard it officially,” he said to the media. “But I said all the time I am not going to hold back. It doesn’t make sense. I scored a point today, so see you later.”

Team principal Ayao Komatsu confirmed to SiriusXM that Oliver Bearman was the likely replacement for Magnussen in Azerbaijan, but that he would need final approval from Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur.

“It’s a time penalty so we cannot do anything,” Komatsu said. “We just accept it and then just have to put a plan in place. It’s a shame because [at] Baku, I think Kev would be really strong. That’s a circuit where he’s strong, so it’s a shame.

“I cannot say [if Bearman will drive] at this minute; I need to get confirmation from Fred. It’s [TBD].”

Second Monza victory just as special as the first – Leclerc

Charles Leclerc says his second victory at the Italian Grand Prix is as special as his first after pulling off a one-stop strategy to win for Ferrari at Monza. Oscar Piastri led the majority of the race from teammate Lando Norris, with Leclerc …

Charles Leclerc says his second victory at the Italian Grand Prix is as special as his first after pulling off a one-stop strategy to win for Ferrari at Monza.

Oscar Piastri led the majority of the race from teammate Lando Norris, with Leclerc dropping from second to third after the first round of pit stops. While McLaren opted for a two-stop strategy, Leclerc stayed on a set of hard compound tires for 38 laps to hold off Piastri by 2.6s, with the home crowd cheering with increasing volume every lap the Ferrari driver passed by and closed in on victory.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Leclerc said. “Actually, I thought that the first time would just feel like this, and then the second time, if there was a second time, wouldn’t feel as special. But, my God, the emotions in the last few laps, exactly the same, like in 2019, just watching the grandstand inside of the track. which is tricky but incredible!

“Monaco and Monza are the two races that I want to win every year. Obviously I want to win as many races as possible and the world championship as soon as possible, but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. It’s so, so special.”

Leclerc admits he wasn’t expecting to be in the mix for victory at Monza given the performance seen earlier in the weekend, and was unsure about the one-stop strategy until he had clear air. Guaranteed to emerge in third place if he made a second stop, the Monegasque felt it was a gamble worth taking.

“Before the race, if you would have asked me, the one-stop was definitely the thing I wanted to do,” he said. “After 10 laps, I think we saw that Red Bull started to struggle with the front left on the hard, and then we started to doubt the one-stop. We thought that it would be a lot more difficult because we thought that the hard would be a more difficult tire to bring to the end.

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“However, as soon as I put it on, I still thought that this was a possibility, especially when Oscar pitted two or three laps after that. I felt like I had more grip not having a car in front, especially on the front tires, and that’s where I really thought that the one-stop, we could make it work.”

“Today I did not expect it going to the race. I thought that we would struggle a bit more compared to the McLaren, but also compared to the Mercedes that seemed to have a really good pace on Friday.

“However, after a few laps, I saw and I felt the car was in a good place. Oscar maybe was a little bit quicker. It was difficult to see Lando’s pace as he was behind. Then once we got undercut, I was like, ‘OK, maybe we are losing the win there.’ But then once both pitted, I actually picked up quite a lot of front grip, having the free air in front. Being the last car [to pit], I didn’t have much to lose by trying the one-stop.

“We did a really, really good job with that front left, which has been very, very tricky for everybody. We had a lot of front graining, but managed to take that front grip again. That helped us to win today.

“To stand up on that podium in front of all the Tifosi after such a week, because it’s a very tiring one … It’s an incredible feeling to be racing for Ferrari in Monza, but it’s also very tiring. To be able to win here is extremely special.”

‘Both championships are not realistic’ anymore – Verstappen

Max Verstappen says the current form that Red Bull is showing makes it unrealistic to think it will win both championships, after finishing sixth in the Italian Grand Prix. Lando Norris took another eight points out of Verstappen’s championship lead …

Max Verstappen says the current form that Red Bull is showing makes it unrealistic to think it will win both championships, after finishing sixth in the Italian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris took another eight points out of Verstappen’s championship lead by finishing third at Monza and securing the fastest lap, while Verstappen was only sixth. Both Ferraris and McLarens finished ahead of the championship leader, who was 38s behind race-winner Charles Leclerc and 15s adrift of Lewis Hamilton in fifth, extending his run of races without a win to six.

“At the moment both championships are not realistic,” Verstappen said. “The car is undriveable; it’s a massive balance problem that we have, and that is not only over one lap but also the race.

“I’ve said a lot [to the team] and now it’s up to the team to come with lot of changes with the car because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undriveable car in the space of, what, six to eight months? That is very weird for me, and we need to really turn the car upside down.”

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Verstappen said pre-race that it would be a case of damage limitation for Red Bull in Italy, but he felt there was potential to execute a better race even if it was unlikely he would finish any higher.

“It was pretty boring, but we were too slow,” he said. “The [slow] pit stop of course cost me a bit, I couldn’t run full power for most of the race with the engine because we had a little issue, and I think also strategy wise we could have done a better job to be at least a little bit more competitive in the fight or whatever. It wouldn’t have changed the position but I think we didn’t do our optimal race.”

There was also a radio message from Verstappen where he asked, “Can the people in the background please be awake? I know this is a s**t position, but it’s important.” Explaining the context afterwards, he says the team didn’t appear to be on top of some of the information coming from the car.

“It had to do with my battery percentage because there are certain levels you’re at and modes you use,” he said. “I see it topping up and at [a point you can go into a faster mode]. So I asked and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, you can.’ I’m like, ‘Come on, this is so obvious — things that you need to be on top of.’ I know I’m not racing anyone, but that shouldn’t matter. It’s still an F1 race where you have to maximize everything.”

Magnussen picks up one-race ban for Baku after Monza contact

Kevin Magnussen had his one-race ban confirmed by the FIA after picking up more penalty points at the Italian Grand Prix. The Dane was handed a 10s time penalty and two penalty points for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly, with the contact …

Kevin Magnussen had his one-race ban confirmed by the FIA after picking up more penalty points at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Dane was handed a 10s time penalty and two penalty points for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly, with the contact between the two at the second chicane seeing both miss the corner but continue. Magnussen has been walking a tightrope on 10 penalty points for a number of months — with 12 within a 12-month period triggering a ban — and the two given to him in Monza led to his Super License being suspended for the next race in Baku.

“On the approach to Turn 4, Car No. 20 attempted to overtake Car No. 10 on the inside,” the stewards’ explanation read. “While Car No. 20 had its front axle past the mirror of Car No. 10, the Driving Standards Guidelines specify that an overtaking car has to ‘be driven in a safe and controlled manner throughout the maneuver.’

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“The stewards determined that this was not the case for Car No. 20 and hence the driver was wholly to blame for the collision and hence the standard penalty and penalty points are allocated.”

Following that explanation, a separate document from the stewards confirmed: “The Super License of the driver of Car No. 20 is suspended for the next competition of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship.

“Following this suspension, 12 penalty points will be removed.”

Haas is likely to promote reserve driver Oliver Bearman — who will replace Magnussen at the team in 2025 — into the seat in Azerbaijan, although that is pending final approval from Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur as he’s a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and was due to race in Formula 2 that weekend.

Colapinto frustrated by error causing his Q1 exit at Monza

Franco Colapinto described his exit from Q1 at the Italian Grand Prix as “frustrating” after running slightly wide on his final timed lap of his debut qualifying session. Williams replaced Logan Sargeant with rookie Colapinto for the final nine …

Franco Colapinto described his exit from Q1 at the Italian Grand Prix as “frustrating” after running slightly wide on his final timed lap of his debut qualifying session.

Williams replaced Logan Sargeant with rookie Colapinto for the final nine races of the season, with the Argentinian driver taking part in his first grand prix weekend. Steady progress in practice and a competitive car had left Colapinto eyeing a spot in Q2, but he ran wide at the second Lesmo and bounced through the gravel, ending up 18th on the grid.

“It’s frustrating of course,” Colapinto said. “I was expecting more after FP3; we had really good pace. I had a lot to improve after lap one in Q1, so I think I was expecting Q2 was very possible, and of course that little mistake that I did cost me the lap.

“A lot of things to keep learning, a lot to understand with the tires yet. It’s a lot of things going on. I am getting used to it and adapting quite quick, but I still need to understand … Of course tomorrow is going to be a very special day, my first F1 race, and it’s going to be an important moment of my career.

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“I think my longest stint now was like eight laps, so tomorrow will be a long one, 57 or something, so looking forward to tomorrow and to keep understanding the tires. I think it’s the most difficult part — keep learning about the car, and hopefully [it’ll get] much better in these nine races.”

Alex Albon showed the pace of the Williams — reaching Q3 and securing ninth on the grid — and says he’s primed for a fight with Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas for the lower points positions.

“P9 is great, so I’m very happy,” Albon said. “We were the best of the rest so far this weekend and that’s where we hoped to be, but I don’t think we truly believed we’d be here, so it’s good. When the car continues to deliver in the practice sessions, it does add a bit of extra pressure to make sure we deliver in qualifying, but it all paid off.

“It’s a very different track to Zandvoort and as good as the upgrades have been, we know this track does suit our car, but we also know that if we didn’t have the upgrade, we wouldn’t be in Q3, so that’s a nice takeaway. We were fighting the Haas throughout qualifying and they seem to have slightly stronger race pace for tomorrow. Graining will be our biggest concern, but let’s see how we go.”

Norris eyeing chance to cut Verstappen’s lead at Monza

Lando Norris says he needs to try and make the most of his opportunity to cut Max Verstappen’s championship lead even further at the Italian Grand Prix, after qualifying on pole position. Verstappen entered the race weekend at Monza with a 70-point …

Lando Norris says he needs to try and make the most of his opportunity to cut Max Verstappen’s championship lead even further at the Italian Grand Prix, after qualifying on pole position.

Verstappen entered the race weekend at Monza with a 70-point advantage over Norris, following the McLaren driver’s dominant victory at Zandvoort a week ago. Qualifying saw Norris secure a second consecutive pole position ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, while Verstappen is only seventh on the grid and behind both Ferrari and Mercedes drivers.

“It’s a good opportunity,” Norris said. “I expect [Verstappen] to cut through and be behind us quite quickly. Their race pace looked very strong on Friday; they were on the better side of the graining and the degradation. I expect them to be a bit more hopeful tomorrow.

“For some reason they didn’t seem to take those steps forward through qualifying. [Verstappen] still seemed quick, even in Q2 he was right there and ended up quicker than me even on a used tire. Even his gap to Perez wasn’t as big as what it normally is, so I don’t know if he struggled more with something or didn’t put good enough laps in. It’ll be for a reason, I’m sure, and we need to try and make the most of that.”

With Norris expecting McLaren to talk about team orders on Sunday morning as part of its strategy meeting, he is also not as confident that he and Piastri will have as big an advantage over the rest of the field as he had a week ago.

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“Honestly, I think when you look back to Zandvoort, you could say yes, there was enough evidence that led us to believe we could have a very, very strong race,” he said. “Here, less so, just because it’s been so close, but we’re still first and second, which means we have a good car and that normally translates well into a good race car.

“I think tomorrow there’s more question marks with more graining and degradation and things like that. Everyone is 4-1-2 (soft-medium-hard sets) with tires, and probably a little bit more nervous of what could happen or what might happen. We’re in the best position for it, so excited to see what we can do.”

Norris also admitted he didn’t expect his final lap of qualifying to be good enough for pole position, after making a mistake at the first chicane that cost him lap time.

“It just didn’t feel like a nailed lap,” he said. “I think all of us as drivers, when you go out in qualifying, you just want to put together the perfect lap, you want everything to flow. I tried pushing the braking a bit more for [Turn] 1, and I actually got [it] so much better; I then smashed the inside curb of [Turn] 2 because I turned in too early.

“So I was about 0.15s down just after Turn 1, so I was kind of like ‘Eek, it’s over already before it even starts.’ I didn’t expect to gain it, but then I nailed the second chicane and gained 0.15s back straightaway. Then just made a couple of hundredths of a gain in every corner from that point on.

“It just didn’t feel like a nailed lap, didn’t feel as good as my lap last weekend, but clearly still good enough for pole, which is a nice feeling.”

Pulisic to miss AC Milan’s final preseason friendly with ankle knock

The USMNT star will hope to be ready for Saturday’s Serie A opener

Christian Pulisic will be sidelined for AC Milan’s final preseason friendly with an ankle knock, per multiple reports.

Milan will face Monza on Tuesday for the Silvio Berlusconi Trophy, just days before the Rossoneri kick off the regular season with a league match against Torino on Saturday.

Gazzetta dello Sport and Calciomercato both reported that Pulisic will be held out against Monza, but should be recovered in time for Saturday’s match at San Siro.

Pulisic played in all three of Milan’s matches on its recently completed U.S. tour, coming off the bench against Man City and Real Madrid before starting and scoring a goal against Barcelona.

The 25-year-old will be looking to replicate, or even surpass his outstanding debut season with Milan. Pulisic scored a career-high 15 goals in all competitions last term, adding 11 assists.

Pulisic played mostly as a right winger last season, but new Milan coach Paulo Fonseca has used him in a more central role this preseason.

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Wolff dismisses Verstappen record: ‘It’s for Wikipedia’

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen’s win in the Italian Grand Prix that gave him a record 10th straight victory wouldn’t be important to him as “it’s for Wikipedia and nobody reads that anyway.” Verstappen remains unbeaten since …

Verstappen remains unbeaten since Sergio Perez won in Baku in April, setting a new benchmark in Formula 1 and eclipsing Sebastian Vettel’s previous record of nine straight wins. After overtaking Carlos Sainz to win at Monza, Verstappen said he was proud of the achievement but Wolff claims a Mercedes driver didn’t manage to achieve such a feat due to the way wins were shared between teammates.

“Our situation was maybe a little bit different because we had two drivers fighting against each other within the team,” Wolff told Sky Sports. “I don’t know whether he cares about the record. It’s not something that would be important for me, any of those numbers. It’s for Wikipedia and nobody reads that anyway.”

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Expanding on the topic a little later, Wolff states his view is based on how he personally viewed such records rather than whether it’s an impressive achievement or not.

“We just talked about it. For me, these types of records are completely irrelevant. They were irrelevant in our good days in Mercedes. I don’t know how many races we won in a row and I didn’t even know that there was a count for how many races in a row you win. Therefore, asking me on commenting on some achievement is difficult because it never played a role in my whole life. The result itself shows that a great driver in a great car are competing on an extremely high level.”

The Mercedes team principal says he would be more impressed if Red Bull was to win every race this season, something that has never been achieved in Formula 1 if the 1950s Indianapolis 500 results are taken into account.

“I think they need to screw it up themselves. They are on track to win every race this season and that, by the way, is a record that I would think is a good one, because that is perfection. We didn’t make it (in 2016) because our two drivers pushed each other out in Barcelona and then we had an engine failure in Malaysia.”