The accident that ended the race of the first two of the World Cup (Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton) revives in Monza the historic rivalry of the late 80s and early 90s between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
1989 Formula 1 World Championship: In the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit, an accident on lap 46 between the Brazilian Ayrton Senna and the Frenchman Alain Prost (teammates in McLaren), ended with the Frenchman out and with the Brazilian on the track, until you win the race. But in the end he was disqualified for having benefited from the help of the stewards, who pushed his car, and not Prost’s, with which he had nothing to do in the last race to overtake his teammate in the World Championship.
1990 World Cup: last race, again in Japan, and again in Suzuka. In the first corner Prost (now at Ferrari) and Senna (McLaren) collide again. The two are out of the race, with what the World Cup is for the Brazilian.
To date, the Prost-Senna rivalry is the most remembered, the most historic, in the history of Formula 1. Until today?
World Cup 2021: Italian Grand Prix, at the mythical Monza circuit. In the middle of the race, the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who had made a horrible qualifying in the sprint on Saturday, finishing fourth, saw how luck was smiling on him after a spectacular start, and especially after a horrible stop by his greatest rival in the World Cup, the Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull). After Hamilton’s own tire change, and after leaving the pit-lane, the first two of the World Championship entered the first chicane in Monza in parallel, just after finishing the main straight.
And what on the other hand seemed inevitable: Hamilton, who started with less rhythm of course from the pits, tried to get Verstappen, who came with all the power of the main straight, to surpass him in an action that seemed vital for the result end of the race (and that Ricciardo’s Red Bull was ahead of both). And when two going in parallel enter a chicane, and neither wants to let the other pass, there is … an accident. The spectacular television images showed us the Red Bull flying, rather ‘climbing’ back to front, the Mercedes. If the halo did not exist, let us remember that it is celebrating its second season in F1, Verstappen’s car would have stepped on the helmet, and therefore the head, of Hamilton.
Because things were already ‘warm’, and if not only it is necessary to remember the GP of Great Britain, at Silverstone, when in a similar action Hamilton threw Verstappen off the asphalt, and from the race. And although the British received a punishment of ten seconds, they were not enough for him to end up winning the race and deducting 25 points from the Dutch just when it seemed that the Red Bull was escaping in the World Cup qualifier.
Therefore, Verstappen and Hamilton were, and the ‘race’ was going to continue in the offices, as the FIA stewards decided to investigate the incident in case either of the two drivers had incurred any infraction. And two hours after the race, the stewards came to the conclusion that it was … Max Verstappen’s fault. And they condemned him to lose three grid positions at the Russian Grand Prix, to be played in two weeks. Obviously, the controversy is served, and after what happened at Silverstone the flames of the controversy will burn more than ever, and throughout the eight races that remain to be disputed.
What does not change is the classification of the World Cup, which after the two points achieved by Verstappen on Saturday in the sprint is in his favor by only five points (226.5 by 221.5). I said, the best World Cup in recent years.
Ricciardo, a historic victory
But since not everything in F1 is the Verstappen-Hamilton fight, the victory of Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) must be reviewed with all honors, who returns the British team to the top of a podium no less than nine years later. The Australian had one of the best weekends of his life, after being third in the sprint on Saturday, and taking the lead in Sunday’s start after surpassing Verstappen (Bottas, winner of the classification, started last due to suspension) .
And the Australian did not leave the head of the race nothing more than in the tire changes. He was first able to hold off Verstappen and, when he went home after the clash with Hamilton, Ricciardo had the invaluable help of his teammate, Briton Lando Norris, who defended a historic double with more sweat than blood. for the former team of Alonso and Sainz.
Third was an immeasurable Valteri Bottas (Mercedes). In the week in which the Finn was announced to be leaving the German squad to make a stop at Alfa Romeo next year, Bottas won Saturday’s sprint and was able to ride from 20th and last on the grid to the podium.
As for the Spanish, although in the end they finished in the top10, the sixth place of Carlos Sainz and the eighth of Fernando Alonso do not get us out of poor, in a Formula 1 more lively than ever in which we only lack a little pepper national with our pilots. We will have to wait for the technological revolution next year.
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