Max does not finish Italian Grand Prix, Gasly wins: 'Nothing worked'

Published on 06 September 2020 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen retires with technical issues from the Italian Grand Prix. In a crazy race, which was red flagged halfway through after a major crash of Charles Leclerc, was Max in seventh position after the start. Max falls back after the restart and has to park his RB16 in the pits shortly after with technical issues. Pierre Gasly benefited enormously by the timing of the first safety car. The AlphaTauri driver took the lead after the red flag and did not give up that position the rest of the race, thereby scoring a sensational first win in Formula 1. The surprisingly podium was completed by Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.

Max says after the race: “I had a worthless race, but that happens sometimes. The start was bad because I had a lot of wheelspin. After that I had to back off at the first turn. I was in between two other cars and had to be careful not to damage the car. After that I was in a DRS train, so I could not overtake anyone and had to follow. After the restart we had a problem with the engine. We tried to fix it, but the problem stayed, and we had to park the car in the pits. I do not know exactly what happened, but something with the engine.”

Verstappen continues: “I am happy the weekend is over. Nothing worked. We have to quickly forget this race and look ahead to next weekend. Mugello is a very different circuit, so hopefully we will do better.”

Max concludes with words of praise for his friend Pierre Gasly: “I am very happy for AlphaTauri and Pierre Gasly for winning here. It is great for Pierre. He had a hard time last year, but he is back strong. He is getting good results every race and he deserves this win.”

On a sunny Monza circuit, the Italian Grand Prix starts. Max has a poor start from fifth on the grid and is in seventh position when turning into the first corner. Bottas also has a bad start and is overtaken by four drivers in the first turn. Starting from pole, Lewis Hamilton is in the lead, followed by the McLarens of Sainz and Norris.

Max is overtaken at the end of the first lap by Lance Stroll for seventh position. Two laps later Max reverses the roles and overtakes the Racing Point at the first chicane.

Sebastian Vettel goes straight ahead at the first chicane in lap six when his brakes malfunction. Slowly the German returns to the Ferrari garage and is the first to retire from the race. Behind Norris, who is in P3, forms a train of cars. Max is the las driver in the train and increases the pressure on Bottas.

Kevin Magnussen has to park his Haas next to the track in lap 20 and is the second to retire. The safety car comes out, so the marshals can push the car behind the barriers. Lewis Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi decide to make a pitstop but overlook that the pitlane is closed. In lap 23 the pitlane is reopened and everyone who did not make a pitstop yet go in. Max changes to the medium tyre and comes back out on track in thirteenth position.

One lap later the field is released with Hamilton in the lead, followed by Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly who benefited fully of the safety car period. Charles Leclerc loses control over his Ferrari when exiting the Parabolica and ends with high speed in the barrier. The Ferrari driver is unharmed, but the car is heavily damaged. The safety car comes out again. Because the barrier is damaged, it is decided to red flag the race and all cars return to the pits. Max is then in eleventh position.

During the red flag period it is announced that Hamilton and Giovinazzi are handed a stop-and-go penalty of 10 seconds for entering the pitlane while it was closed. After a holdup of almost half an hour the cars return to the track for another formation lap. There is a second standing start with Hamilton on first position on the grid, Stoll in P2 and Gasly third. At the restart Max falls back into fourteenth position. When Hamilton goes in at the end of the lap, Pierre Gasly takes the lead, followed by Kimi Raikkonen.

In lap 31 Max comes in and parks his car in the pits with technical issues. This is the second time the Dutchman does not finish a race this year. Raikkonen falls back in the following laps, with Sainz and Stroll ending up behind Gasly.

During the rest of the race nothing changes at the lead, therefor Pierre Gasly scores surprisingly his first win of his Formula 1 career. Carlos Sainz takes second position, also his best result ever. While Lance Stroll completes the surprisingly podium. Lando Norris finished fourth, with Valtteri Bottas in P5. Daniel Ricciardo finishes in sixth position, while Hamilton is able to get back to seventh after his penalty. Esteban Ocon, Daniil Kvyat and Sergio Perez complete the top ten.

Results Grand Prix Italy: