F1 | Italian GP 2022, the podium of the promoted: Carlos Sainz, the fans and those who try them all, Nicholas Latifi
1. Carlos Sainz. Mvp of the Grand Prix. He starts 18th and eats three quarters of a grill like popcorn in front of a Quentin Tarantino cult. Let me be clear, it is the third fastest car on the track and must overtake Latifi and the like, not exactly the Williams of Mansell and Patrese. But Hamilton is called to the same comeback, and he struggles much harder despite having a superior car to those in front of him. He would also go to the podium, but Russell this year invented Murphy’s law backwards: if something works for him, he will.
2. The fans and those who try them all. Nothing to do, Monza is a spectacle in its own right, there is nothing to compare by combining track, history and atmosphere, three words that however seem absent in the vocabulary of those in charge. Or rather, let’s say I’m not on the front page. Spectacular heat and the party of the podium, even if ruined by inevitable grumbling. It is true that in the past non-Ferrari drivers have been booed, but in this case it was clear how the deafening “buu” were aimed at those who have to decide and instead destroy, to those who watch the races but do not see them. This time they also see it in the Ferrari pits: I was bitterly critical of them, perhaps too much, but frankly what do we mean for the GP? They try them all, knowing that with the same strategy Verstappen gives everyone 20 seconds. They fish (half) wild card in the Virtual Safety Car, knowing that if Leclerc hadn’t stopped maybe Max would, who would have had an even greater advantage before the Safety Car. It did not go, but the Max-Red Bull package now does not beat it on Sunday, but in the factory.
3. Nicholas Latifi. I admit: I had missed an important detail. The great Nichwallas had overtaken Nico Hülkenberg in the drivers’ standings, who after those 5 km of race he played this year had snatched the coveted penultimate place. Scorched by the outrage, the Canadian did not give up and, running alone, he completed his revenge in about three to four months. Not even time to rejoice and another boy passes in front of him who, until the day before yesterday, did not even have a race in F1. Not only that: he throws him out of Q2 and scores points on the first shot. Will our hero be able to get behind another ghost? I believe.
F1 | Italian GP 2022, the podium of the rejected: FIA, Alpine, Sergio Perez
3. Sergio Perez. While the psychoanalysis department at Milton Keynes is gearing up to give Checo the best material to face the crisis from Max, the Mexican shows no signs of improvement. In qualifying he does not offer the slipstream and takes eight tenths from his partner in an 80-second circuit in which 70% of you have to go to full speed, with the same car and fresh engine. In the race he is burned twice by Sainz, in the game of stops he is also unlucky because he cannot take advantage of the new soft. You tell me. Horned and hammeredas they say in Riscone di Brunico.
2. Alpine. But how? The Temple of Speed, the low-load circuits, the powerful engine, and then what? Performance from those who saw him from Ocon, at least Alonso was in the points-zone, but the premises were different, considering that three of the strong ones started far behind. Ricciardo even went faster this weekend.
1. FIA. We would have to write a separate column on the brainy decisions of this mysterious organism that up to a certain point deserves the success of Formula 1. As far as I’m concerned, thanks are limited to the safety of the post-Senna cars and little else. Yesterday, even from this point of view, the organization left something to be desired, putting a tractor in the wrong direction with the machines five meters away (de Vries soon climbs onto the mechanical arm in lap dance style), totally missing the leader of the race and unnecessarily staying ahead of Russell for two and a half laps. It is clear that a red flag would have been excessive for Ricciardo’s retirement per se, but once you put a crane on the track you have to stop the race. Slow Sunday, elephants in qualifying: but is it possible that you have to wait almost five hours to have the definitive starting grid, while the best professionals in the sector give 54 different grids? Are (we) all stupid or is it the sporting regulations that make water?
What are yours? And above all, why?
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