2023 Italian Grand Prix
| 2023 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 14 of 22 in the 2023 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
 Layout of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | |||||
| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 3 September 2023 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023 | ||||
| Location |
Monza Circuit Monza, Italy | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.793 km (3.599 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 51 laps, 295.134 km (183.388 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 53 laps, 306.720 km (190.586 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||
| Attendance | 304,134 | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:20.294 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:25.072 on lap 43 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Second | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
The 2023 Italian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 September 2023 at the Monza Circuit in Monza, Italy.
The race was won by Max Verstappen for Red Bull Racing for his tenth consecutive win in a row, breaking previous Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive race victories, and extending Red Bull Racing's consecutive race wins record as a constructor to 15. Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and polesitter Carlos Sainz Jr. made up the podium, Sainz's second podium at Monza Circuit.
The Grand Prix set the record for the duration of the shortest race without a red flag with 1:13:41.143,[2] breaking the previous record belonging to the 2003 Grand Prix with 1:14:19.838.[3]
Background
The event was held across the weekend of 1–3 September. It was the fourteenth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the 93rd running of the Italian Grand Prix.[4]
Championship standings before the race
Coming into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 138 points from teammate Sergio Pérez, with Fernando Alonso third, a further 33 points behind. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship, leading Mercedes by 285 points and Aston Martin by a further 40 points.[5]
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list.[6] The only exception was Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards.[7] However, he was substituted also for this Grand Prix by Liam Lawson, following Ricciardo's injury during the second practice session of the preceding Dutch Grand Prix.[8] Felipe Drugovich drove for Aston Martin in place of Lance Stroll during the first practice session.[9]
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4 and C5 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[10] These are the softest compounds available for nomination and were last nominated at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A reduction in allocated tyre sets from the standard 13 to 11 was trialled again during this Grand Prix, with the intention of making tyre usage more sustainable. This is the second and last time this season that it was trialled after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The usage of tyre compounds during qualifying was mandated as hard in Q1, medium in Q2 and soft in Q3, assuming that the weather is dry.[11]
Practice
Three practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 1 September 2023, at 13:30 local time (UTC+2). Max Verstappen topped the session, with Carlos Sainz Jr. recording the second-fastest time and Sergio Pérez recording the third-fastest.
The second practice session was held later that day at 17:00 local time (UTC+2). It was topped by Carlos Sainz Jr., with Lando Norris recording the second-fastest time and Sergio Pérez recording the third-fastest. The session was red-flagged early when Lance Stroll's fuel system failed, forcing him to sit out the rest of the session. It was later red-flagged again when Sergio Pérez spun into the gravel at turn 11. However, Pérez's crash was late enough in the session to retain the third-fastest time.
The third practice session was held on 2 September 2023, at 12:30 local time (UTC+2), with Sainz topping the session ahead of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.[12]
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on 2 September 2023, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2).[12]
Qualifying report
Max Verstappen topped the first session, which was to be set on hard tyres, ahead of Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc while Zhou Guanyu, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll did not advance to the second session. Zhou, Oscar Piastri, who would recover by recording the eleventh-fastest time, Fernando Alonso and Verstappen had their lap times deleted due to track limits violations.
The second session, set to medium tyres, was also topped by Verstappen, ahead of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. This time, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant did not advance to the final qualifying session.
Alexander Albon appeared in the third session, which was set to soft tyres, as Verstappen's left-rear snapped into the gravel but set the provisional fastest lap. However, the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz beat Verstappen to pole – Leclerc beaten out by Verstappen and Sainz winning out by 0.013s and taking pole position in front of the Tifosi.[13]
Qualifying classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 1 | 55 |  Carlos Sainz Jr.
|
Ferrari | 1:21.965 | 1:20.991 | 1:20.294 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 |  Max Verstappen
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:21.573 | 1:20.937 | 1:20.307 | 2 |
| 3 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc
|
Ferrari | 1:21.788 | 1:20.977 | 1:20.361 | 3 |
| 4 | 63 |  George Russell
|
Mercedes | 1:22.148 | 1:21.382 | 1:20.671 | 4 |
| 5 | 11 |  Sergio Pérez
|
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:21.911 | 1:21.240 | 1:20.688 | 5 |
| 6 | 23 |  Alexander Albon
|
Williams-Mercedes | 1:21.661 | 1:21.272 | 1:20.760 | 6 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:22.106 | 1:21.527 | 1:20.785 | 7 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes | 1:21.977 | 1:21.369 | 1:20.820 | 8 |
| 9 | 4 | Lando Norris
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.995 | 1:21.581 | 1:20.979 | 9 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso
|
Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:22.043 | 1:21.543 | 1:21.417 | 10 |
| 11 | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:21.852 | 1:21.594 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 40 |  Liam Lawson
|
AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:22.112 | 1:21.758 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 27 |  Nico Hülkenberg
|
Haas-Ferrari | 1:22.343 | 1:21.776 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 77 |  Valtteri Bottas
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:22.249 | 1:21.940 | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 2 |  Logan Sargeant
|
Williams-Mercedes | 1:21.930 | 1:21.944 | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 24 |  Zhou Guanyu
|
Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:22.390 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 10 |  Pierre Gasly
|
Alpine-Renault | 1:22.545 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon
|
Alpine-Renault | 1:22.548 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 20 |  Kevin Magnussen
|
Haas-Ferrari | 1:22.592 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 18 |  Lance Stroll
|
Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:22.860 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time: 1:27.283 | |||||||
| Source:[14][15] | |||||||
Race
The race was held on 3 September 2023, and was scheduled at 15:00 local time (UTC+2),[12] but was delayed by 20 minutes due to an aborted start procedure.
Race report
The formation lap was aborted after Yuki Tsunoda broke down on track; his car was wheeled off via truck. Due to this, a 20-minute delay was imposed. During this time, members of the teams' pit crew went to the track. The two formation laps resulted in the total laps being shortened to 51. A third formation lap would be run.
Polesitter Carlos Sainz Jr. had a good start and held off second-placed Max Verstappen for the first 14 laps. Even when Verstappen was allowed DRS, he was unable to make an overtake as Sainz continued to hold a strong defense. However, Sainz locked up coming into the first corner on lap 15, giving Verstappen a fighting chance. He eventually passed Sainz and led the race for the next five laps until he came in for a stop. Meanwhile, George Russell and Sergio Pérez were having their own fight for fourth place behind Charles Leclerc. On lap 14, Pérez was able to pass Russell at the first corner, but both cars missed the chicane and Pérez had to give the position back. Due to another incident against Esteban Ocon at the same corner after his stop, Russell was given a five-second penalty.
Outside of Verstappen, the other drivers were having close battles, with Pérez and Leclerc having a duel at the second corner. Lewis Hamilton made an error trying to pass Oscar Piastri, granting the McLaren driver a broken front wing. Due to this, Hamilton was given a five-second penalty, which would drop him behind Fernando Alonso. Hamilton would make easy work of Alexander Albon, who was sizing up Lando Norris and defending against him. Meanwhile, Sainz would run out of room at the first corner. He was forced to not only take the runoff area, but give Pérez second place. As the race was reaching its closing stages, Leclerc locked up twice and almost collided with Sainz. There was a risk of a double Ferrari retirement at their home race, but Sainz kept a cool face throughout as he pulled away. Sainz himself would lock up into the first corner as Verstappen won his second consecutive Italian Grand Prix. With ten consecutive wins since Miami, this new record broke Sebastian Vettel's 2013 record of nine consecutive wins in a row - and a new record for Red Bull Racing with fifteen consecutive races won in a row as a constructor since the previous Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[16] Verstappen said during his post-race interview with Nico Rosberg that he was biding his time, looking to force a mistake off Sainz to gain the lead.[17]
After the race, Hamilton apologised to Piastri for the incident.[18]
Race classification
Notes
- ^1 – The race distance was scheduled to be 53 laps before being shortened by two laps due to an aborted start procedure.[2]
- ^2 – George Russell received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. His final position was not affected by the penalty.[2]
- ^3 – Lewis Hamilton received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri. His final position was not affected by the penalty.[2]
- ^4 – Oscar Piastri finished 11th, but he received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.[2]
- ^5 – Logan Sargeant received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas. His final position was not affected by the penalty.[2]
- ^6 – Yuki Tsunoda did not start the race due to an engine failure during the formation lap. His place on the grid was left vacant.[2]
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
References
- ^ "Italian Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Race". formula1.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023 – Race Result". Formula 1. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003 – Race Result". Formula 1. 14 September 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2003.
- ^ "F1 Calendar 2023". F1 Calendar. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Netherlands 2023 – Championship". Stats F1. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "2023 Italian Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Breaking: Ricciardo to replace De Vries at AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. 11 July 2023.
- ^ "AlphaTauri confirm Lawson will race at Monza – and until Ricciardo is ready to return to action". Formula 1.com. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Aston Martin reserve Drugovich set for FP1 outing at Italian GP". Formula 1.com. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "News and tyre choices for Zandvoort and Monza". pirelli.com. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "F1 to trial tweaked qualifying format in 2023". Autosport.com. 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ a b c "Italian Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Race". Formula1.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Formula One Management (2 September 2023). "Sainz pips Verstappen and Leclerc to pole in ultra-close Italian GP qualifying". Formula One. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Formula One Management (3 September 2023). "Verstappen charges to Monza victory for record-breaking 10th successive F1 win". Formula One.
- ^ Formula One Management (3 September 2023). "'I never would have believed this' – Verstappen in shock after making more F1 history with Monza win". Formula One.
- ^ Formula One Management (3 September 2023). "Hamilton apologises to Piastri as both drivers give their verdict on Italian GP collision". Formula One.
- ^ "Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Italy 2023 – Championship". Stats F1. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.