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Did McLaren throw the Italian Grand Prix away or was Ferrari's genius one-stop strategy something nobody could have seen coming?
It's a fair question after a fascinating Monza race that delivered in bucketloads on the uneven strategies score.
And did McLaren already mismanage the race in terms of how it handled its drivers racing each other amid the title fights?
Our contributors assess whether blame can be attributed for McLaren's defeat and some wider topics associated with the victory, Ferrari's first at the track since 2019.
McLaren strategy choice was sound
Ben Anderson
It’s difficult to be too hard on McLaren, given the frantic pace in the first stint of that race and the fact Charles Leclerc was apparently unhappy at being stopped as early as lap 15 of 53. A one-stopper at that stage looked extremely unlikely for anyone with a genuine shot at winning.
And then you add in the fact that pace only got hotter, thanks to everyone in the leading group not in a Ferrari committing to two stops and so to hell with tyre management!
I figured the Ferraris would either be forced into a late second stop or just run out of grip and get swallowed up by the McLarens. Even though Carlos Sainz stopped four laps later than Leclerc, he couldn’t get the tyres to last and was comfortably beaten by both McLarens.
So the McLaren strategy was arguably sound - it was simply a strategic gamble by Ferrari that dovetailed brilliantly with a virtuoso performance from Leclerc, who has again reminded the world there is far more to his game as an F1 driver than his undeniably astounding qualifying speed.
Painful lesson in mismanagement
Josh Suttill
McLaren threw away victory here no doubt and it wasn't the lap one squabble that was the problem.
Piastri was the faster driver today and him wrestling the lead on lap one was actually the better outcome there than telling them not to race.
But once McLaren had a one-two after the first pitstops, it should have locked the race down from there.
Piastri and Norris shouldn't have been able to race each other from that moment on unless Norris was clearly quicker - which he wasn't today.
Norris could have been used to cover off anything the Ferraris did and give Piastri a more comfortable advantage out front.
Instead, Norris was allowed to attack Piastri and McLaren even covered off Norris's own second pitstop with Piastri when it should have been focusing on Ferrari behind.
It's a painful lesson in race mismanagement and something McLaren simply must improve on as Norris versus Piastri isn't going to stop being neck-and-neck.
Forget absolute fairness, this is racing and McLaren has to put its own victory chances ahead of ensuring complete strategic fairness or open racing rules.
A scary reminder for Hamilton next year
Jack Benyon
I think you, I and everybody else knows that Lewis Hamilton faces a tough task going up against Leclerc next year. But what a reminder.
Hamilton’s recent uptick in form amid Mercedes being a victory threat reminded us he still has ‘it’ to compete at the highest level.
But amid its own slump, Ferrari has won Monaco and Monza in the same year and both were pulled off by the same team leader in Leclerc.
He’s been there longer, speaks fluent Italian, is shaping the development of next year's car and he can weather winless periods when his car isn’t good by delivering when it is in position.
McLaren didn't do anything wrong
Gary Anderson
I’m pretty sure Ferrari and Leclerc going for a one stop caught everyone by surprise.
If you are an Italian team and a Monte Carlo native and want to win two special races in one season it’s Monaco and Monza and that’s just what Ferrari and Leclerc have done.
I don’t think McLaren did anything wrong, after the argy-bargy on the first lap when Piastri passed Norris they drove their own race, they reacted to the state of their tyres and did their planned two-stop strategy. They were using the left front tyre harder than the Leclerc in his Ferrari.
When you try something different you can go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye, and to add to that doing it in front of your home supporters is risky to say the least.
Now it’s Ferrari and McLaren which both have two drivers capable of scoring big points. Mercedes would probably have been in there as well with both its cars if George Russell hadn’t had his little skirmish at the first corner which required a nose change later in the race.
All that means that Red Bull has a lot of work to do to stop a constructors' championship and perhaps even a drivers' championship coming McLaren's way in 2024.
Underestimate Leclerc at your peril
Scott Mitchell-Malm
Don't do what McLaren did and underestimate Leclerc.
Maybe there was ultimately a bit too much conservatism or misjudgement by McLaren in terms of how the final stint would progress without stopping again. Piastri felt his front left was dead, which sparked the second stop, but accepted that in hindsight the one-stop was worth trying as the graining cleared up for Leclerc.
But and his team never imagined Leclerc would be so quick. He drove further and faster on the hards than anyone, especially McLaren, expected.
The gap from Piastri to Leclerc was 5.4s when they stopped, and Sainz was 10.7s behind Leclerc. But at the flag, despite Leclerc having older tyres, Sainz was 15.6s behind him.
If Leclerc had run that extended final stint at Sainz's pace, then Piastri would have caught him at the end. And probably passed him. Then McLaren would have made life hard for itself but have got away with it.
Maybe the Ferrari was a little friendlier on its front left than the McLaren and that's why it was at least possible to try - and race circumstances also helped, because as Piastri said Leclerc had nothing to lose by trying, he'd have just finished third either way.
But to execute it so well was superbly judged. The rest of the frontrunners shuffled back into the right kind of positions and gaps. Leclerc was the outlier.
Too many F1 teams are afraid to gamble
Glenn Freeman
Maybe in the fullness of time it’ll become clear that McLaren overlooked something obvious here, but with the dust yet to settle, and the red smoke of the tifosi flares yet to clear, this feels more like a race that Leclerc and Ferrari stole in brilliant fashion, rather than one McLaren threw away.
Even if it hadn’t worked out for Leclerc, Ferrari would have deserved massive credit for trying something to give itself a shot at a home victory. Regardless of who won, we were getting a thrilling finish.
Too often F1 teams are afraid to gamble. It won’t always work, but as the magical atmosphere at Monza in those closing laps and after the finish showed, sometimes it’s worth the punt.
And in fairness to McLaren, it’s easier to gamble when you’re the underdog.
