Italian GP | Charles Leclerc, the predestined
The Monegasque collected his second consecutive win, after a crazy race trying to hold off Lewis Hamilton. He is the one who has brought the Ferrari victory back in Monza, 9 years after the last one. Everybody now calls him the Predestinate.
The Predestinate.
That's how everyone has called Charles Leclerc after he did what all the tifosi were hoping for: a Ferrari win in Monza.
The last time Ferrari triumphed in the Temple of Speed it was 9 years ago, with Fernando Alonso at his first season with the Prancing Horse.
From there on, Ferrari kept chasing the win here, but the mission has been accomplished only today: Charles Leclerc scored Pole Position yesterday in a crazy yet unbelievable Qualifying session, started from P1 and kept his position until the end.
This is the second career win for the Monegasque, who in Spa also started from Pole, but the feeling was completely different: a bittersweet feeling, for the first victory, for Anthoine, for everyone who wasn't there anymore.
But Charles kept his head on the ground, stayed focused and earned the win.
This time, the feeling is completely different: Leclerc held off Lewis Hamilton for half of the race, in a crazy game of DRS and tyres life.
Since Austria, Leclerc has changed his attitude, but also the Monaco Qualifying can be pretty important in our winner story.
Leclerc has grown, is more aggressive, has now the forma mentis of a champion, has understood that you can't always be a nice guy, not on track at all. Charles has become more aggressive, sure of his drive, he knew exactly what he had to do and he did it.
Ferrari needed this, needed a win here, but mostly needed a driver like Charles.
And the Autodromo full of tifosi showed ecxacrtly how much love there is for this driver who is now called the "predestinate".
It is not the first time that Leclerc is called like this, but today more than ever, it seems like this word is more than real.
A single mistake has been made by Leclerc, slighlty cutting Turn 1 while Hamilton was on a hunt to get him.
Probably, the 5 time World Champion had the possibility to get him with his W10, but his mistakes were bigger. Not even Valtteri Bottas, who replaced Hamilton in this hunt for Mercedes' win, couldn't do anything.
"Come on, Valtteri, this is your win." This is the radio message Mercedes sent to Bottas a few laps from the end.
The podium ceremony in Monza is always special and emotional, but nothing can beat this one: the love for this young guy was incredible, the love for this Scuderia is immortal.
It is crazy to think that, in the same exact day, Sebastian Vettel repeated what he did in Monza last year: he spun, he lost positions and was forced to climb from the back. And this is the exact picture of this team right now. All the hopes, despite having a "wrong" car, are put on Leclerc, the only one that can, now, bring Ferrari into a new chapter, a new era and who knows, a new champioship.