“It’s an incredible feeling", says Leclerc of Italian GP win

It didn't look like a home victory was on the cards for Ferrari, after they missed out on pole and were slower than McLaren and Mercedes in Saturday's qualifying session.

Even so, Leclerc lined up for today's race in fourth place, alert for any chances of picking up positions when the race lights went out, and with Carlos Sainz starting right behind him to help out.

When the lights went out, Oscar Piastri and George Russell clashed for position with the Mercedes sent down the escape road. Piastri then slipstreamed past his team mate pole sitter Lando Norris, to take the lead.

As Norris struggled to maintain momentum, Leclerc saw the opportunity he had been waiting for and blasted past the McLaren into the second Lesmo, putting him up to second with two successive positions rapidly gained.

Noris did retake his dropped spot with an efficient undercut at the first round of pit stops, leaving Ferrari with only one option available to them - an almost undoable one-stop strategy with an extended second run on hard tyres.

• Read also: Leclerc triumphs with dream Ferrari win at Monza

Leclerc somehow made it work, and it's fortunate that the Autodromo Nazionale Monza doesn't have a roof because it would have been blown clear off buy the roar of Tifosi fans going berserk as the chequered flag came out.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Leclerc, who previously won this race back in 2019. “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 were exactly the same like in 2019," he declared when interviewed by Nico Rosberg in parc ferme after the finish.

"Monaco and Monza are the two races 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

"I've managed to win them this year," he beamed. "It’s so, so special.”

Victory hadn't looked in the cars after Ferrari suffered a mid-season slump after a failed floor upgrade at Spain left them behind their rivals. A new package was introduced this weekend, but hads that fixed all the problems?

“I don’t know,” Leclerc, when asked how much of a difference the new parts had made this weekend. "I think our package was working pretty well on a track like Monza. Whether it will be the same for the rest of the season, I doubt so.

“I still think McLaren are the favourites, but we have done a step forward that’s for sure," he added, as he looked ahead to the next race on the calendar in Azerbaijan.

"Baku is a pretty nice track for me, I quite like this track and I’ve been quite competitive in the past so who knows? Maybe we can achieve something special again there.”

Carlos Sainz - who turns 30 today - just missed out on joining Leclerc on the podium after a long first stint left him with too much work to do at the end, allowing Piastri and Norris to pass him in the closing laps.

With Ferrari having picked up three race wins so far 2024, Ferrari has closed the gap to Red Bull and McLaren in the constructors championship while Leclerc is third in the drivers title battle between Norris and Piastri.

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