On this day in 1996, Michael Schumacher sent the Tifosi delirious by ending Ferrari’s elusive wait for a victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Having secured back-to-back titles with Benneton, Schumacher joined Ferrari that year with the task of restoring glory to Formula 1’s longest-tenured team.

The Scuderia had been on a barren run since last winning the Constructors’ Championship in 1983, with its last Drivers’ title success coming in 1979 with South African Jody Scheckter.

To make matters worse for the Tifosi, a Ferrari driver hadn’t stood on the top step of the iconic Monza podium since Gerhard Berger in 1988.

Schumacher was, as history can confirm, in it for the long haul at Ferrari, but the team that would become the dominant force of the early 2000s had a mountain to climb at the start of ’96.

This was due to the all-conquering Adrian Newey-designed Williams FW18 driven by eventual champion Damon Hill and rookie contender Jacques Villeneuve.

Ahead of the ’96 Italian GP, Williams had racked up 10 wins (7 for Hill, 3 for Villeneuve) and had already wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship, entering the weekend at Monza with a hefty 149 points. Benetton were second with 55 points and Ferrari sat third on 48 points (it is worth noting the points structure in 1996 was 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1).

Hill led the Drviers’ standings with 81 points, 13 ahead of Villeneuve in second, providing him the chance to wrap up the title from pole position in Monza, having out-qualified the rest of the field by just over three-tenths of a second.

Schumacher was third in the standings ahead of the Italian GP, way adrift of the Williams pairing with a tally of just 39 points. However, the German driver had performed miracles in the largely uncompetitive and by most accounts unattractive F310.

In Spain earlier that year, Schumacher stunned the opposition in the torrential rain to take his first win for Ferrari by a margin of 45 seconds and he’d triumphed for a second time in the round before at Spa-Francorchamps, capitalising on numerous pit-stop errors from Williams.

Schumacher lined up third on the grid at Monza, having qualified five-tenths off of Hill’s pole-sitting pace and both Williams looked to be too much of a challenge for the Ferrari driver to overcome in front of the raucous Italian crowd.

Remarkably, it was Jean Alesi who grabbed the lead by vaulting the front runners in his Benetton from the third row of the grid, whilst Schumacher lost out to the McLaren pairing of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, thus dropping him to sixth.

Hill would soon dispatch Alesi out in front, with Hakkinen passing Villeneuve for third as well heading into the Parabolica.

Tyres that had been placed at Monza’s chicanes to dissuade drivers from straight-lining them would play a huge role in the result.

On Lap 2, Villeneuve clipped the tyres at the Variente Della Roggia chicane, sending one into the path of Coulthard’s McLaren and the Scot retired via the gravel trap as a result. This allowed Schumacher to climb back up to fourth by the end of the second lap.

Hakkinen then hit the tyres and had to pit a lap later for a new front wing, dropping him out of the front running places and elevating Schumacher to third.

But the most dramatic incident with the tyre barriers came on Lap 6. Race leader Hill was distraught after hitting the tyres at Variente Rettifilo and spinning out of the Grand Prix.

This handed the lead back to Alesi, with Schumacher giving chase in second, albeit several seconds behind. But after 16 laps of the race, Schumacher was right on the tail of the Benetton driver and well in contention to take the win.

Schumacher stayed right on the tail of Alesi right the way through to the first round of pit stops, with Alesi electing to pit at the end of Lap 31.

The Ferrari driver responded in typical fashion by punching in two super-quick laps, stopping at the end of Lap 33 and firing out of pit lane to rejoin at the start of the next lap with a near-seven-second lead over the Frenchman.

From there, Schumacher stretched his advantage out in front and not even a late brush with the tyre barrier could stop him from cruising to a commanding 18.265s win.

It would be Schumacher’s third and final win of the ’96 season, but it could arguably be the most special given it was in front of a rampant Italian crowd, with thousands of people swarming on track to watch the German driver take to the top step of the podium in customary Monza fashion.

In the post-race press conference after securing Ferrari’s first win at Monza since 1988, Schumacher said: “To stand in front of those guys in such a crowd is unbelievable.”

With his win in Monza on this day in ’96, Schumacher’s legacy with Ferrari and the Italian fans was well on its way to becoming a legend.

Poetically, Charles Leclerc was also victorious at Monza in Ferrari colours on 8 September 23 years later, bringing an end to the Italian marque’s then nine-year wait for a home win.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says a decision will soon be made on whether Italy can continue hosting two grands prix beyond 2025.

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many rounds to be abandoned in 2020, particularly outside of Europe, Monza was accompanied on the F1 calendar by Mugello and Imola.

Following the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix during the proceeding two seasons, Imola again held races under the title of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, penning a three-year deal in early 2022 to remain alongside Monza until 2025.

However, Italy might soon revert to only upholding one slot on the F1 calendar amid the increased demand to host an F1 race and the series already being at the maximum threshold of 24 rounds for next year.

Domenicali says determining whether both Monza and Imola can remain simultaneously beyond their current deals is one topic that will be addressed very shortly.

“There is one issue that will be addressed in the short term, and that is to understand the future of Formula 1 in Italy,” he said via Autosport.

“We will have to understand if there are the resources to be able to keep two grands prix on the calendar, or if we will focus on just one.

“I want to thank Imola, because the organisers were ready to take a chance in a difficult moment like COVID, confirming that they lived up to the commitment made.”

Domenicali has previously expressed that European circuits can’t take their place on the calendar for granted, adding they will not be immune from dropping off entirely.

Monza is set to undergo extensive renovation work ahead of next year’s event, including implementing larger grandstand areas and modernising the overall facilities.

The ex-Ferrari F1 chief explains that the developments are “important” to ensure the iconic Monza circuit retains standards with other venues around the world.

“They have confirmed to me that the necessary renovation work on the facility will begin after the end of the grand prix,” Domencali added. 

“It’s an important step because next year it’s necessary to give a signal of improvement. 

“The historical value of Monza is beyond question, but we also need to keep up with the times in terms of services, which must be in line with the prices paid by those who come to the race track. Within the next year, we will have clear ideas about the future.”

However, Domenicali also asserts there are further aspects under consideration for any circuit, most notably the entertainment factor for spectators present at grands prix.

The Italian says he was particularly impressed with the show Zandvoort put on for the fans in attendance last month.

“There are countries that have made huge investments, building infrastructure in line with their financial possibilities,” he noted. 

“But there are also other aspects that weigh on the evaluation of an event, and I think that in terms of entertainment what we saw last weekend in Zandvoort is a very good example. The way the audience was entertained was incredible.”

Domenicali’s claims could spell bad news for Imola President Gian Carlo Minardi, who expressed hope earlier this year that the circuit would be allotted an extra year to its current contract after this year’s event was cancelled due to severe floods in the area.

Pierre Gasly was made to lament the Italian Grand Prix being a “super painful” weekend for Alpine.

Alpine arrived at the low-downforce Monza circuit already expecting to struggle at a venue that rewards good top-end speed down the multitude of straights.

After Gasly admitted Alpine were “struggling more than expected” during Friday practice, the Enstone side’s worst fears were realised in qualifying as both Gasly and team-mate Esteban Ocon failed to advance beyond Q1.

Alpine’s fortunes wouldn’t improve dramatically in the race, with Gasly trailing home 15th in the sole remaining A523.

“It’s been super-painful. I don’t think we have ever had such a lack of competitiveness compared to our rivals,” Gasly rued on Sunday.

“We knew straight away from the start of the season that [Monza] will be a painful one, but it was clearly very difficult out there. We saw it yesterday, we knew there will not be any magic overnight, but it’s just pretty painful from inside the cockpit.”

Whilst the entirety of the top-10 finishers executed a one-stop strategy, Alpine opted to run split strategies on Sunday in a bid to prop at least one of its cars up the order.

Ocon was angling to complete the distance on a solitary change for tyres before his retirement. Meanwhile, Gasly was the earliest driver in the pit lane on Lap 10, stopping for a second time on Lap 31.

The Frenchman asserts that Alpine had to “gamble” on strategy in order to counter its lacklustre performance.

“We thought we’d try something different on both cars and if a Safety Car comes in at any moment then me and Esteban will benefit from it, or I would benefit from one at a later point, but when you’re lacking so much performance like that, you’ve just got to gamble,” he explained.

“Unfortunately, it’s no secret when you’re competitive it ends up really well, when you’re not competitive it’s much harder.”

Gasly was only saved the blushes of being lapped as race winner Max Verstappen encountered an issue in the closing stages that forced him to reduce his pace.

Nevertheless, Gasly’s nightmare race marked a complete contrast to the weekend before when he collected his maiden podium finish with Alpine at Zandvoort.

The ex-Red Bull affiliate declares the Anglo-French outfit must understand its drop in performance, adding that the deficit can’t entirely be attributed to the power unit.

“We always knew it was going to be difficult, but I think the most important really is to understand and quantify where that drop of performance is coming from and come back next year with a stronger package,” he added.

“I’m going past Carlos [Sainz, Ferrari] last week on track, same tyres on pure pace and this week he’s standing on the podium and I’m almost a lap down.

“We knew it’s a very power-sensitive track, but it’s the whole package which has got to be better for this track.”

Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto says the input of manager and mentor Fernando Alonso was influential in him emerging as this year’s title-winner.

Bortoleto, 18, wrapped up the Formula 3 title during Friday’s qualifying session at Monza on Friday, when his nearest opponents failed to take the points on offer for pole position.

Bortoleto is part of the A14 Management scheme run by two-time champion Alonso and 2023 was his first full season under its guidance.

Consistency was a major part of Bortoleto’s title-winning campaign, with the Brazilian taking only two wins – at the opening pair of events in Bahrain and Australia – but failing to score in just three of the 18 races.  

“Fernando is a Formula 1 legend and not only in Formula 1 – he has driven in a lot of categories and won in all of them,” said Bortoleto of the Aston Martin racer.

“He’s not just my manager but also an idol for me because since I was very young, Fernando has been the guy who was winning races in my dream category which is Formula 1.”

Bortoleto explained that he remained in regular communication with Alonso through 2023, the lessons from which he applied into his racecraft.

“Now having him as my manager and giving me some tips, especially before Bahrain and Melbourne, even Monaco, it was something very special to me,” said Bortoleto.

“For sure, he has been a big part of what I’ve done this season.

“I was leading the championship after Melbourne and I’d won my second Feature Race in a row, I remember he sent me a voice message of almost 10 minutes on WhatsApp.

“He told me a lot of great stuff, but he kept in my mind that I could have won other races in the year and the moment that I started to struggle because at some point probably I would struggle in the season or not be winning, but in the top five.

“I needed to accept that and get the points that I needed and I think that was my mindset the whole season because it came directly from him and when a guy like Fernando tells you something, I think you better listen! So I think it was very special.”

Carlos Sainz Sr has criticised Ferrari’s decision to not call off the fight between his son and Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the Italian Grand Prix, hitting out at the side’s inconsistency when it comes to delivering team orders this year.

Having been passed by the Red Bulls, Sainz and Leclerc were left to contest the third step on the podium during the final laps.

Leclerc appeared to have gained the high ground on his team-mate into Turn 1 on Lap 47, but the Monegasque driver ran in too deep, allowing Sainz to regain the place back into Turn 4, despite both drivers cutting across the Variante della Roggia chicane.

The Ferraris almost came to blows on the final lap when Sainz moved late under braking at Turn 1, forcing Leclerc to lock up and change direction, cutting the chicane.

Nevertheless, both SF-23 cars ran to the end, with Sainz pipping Leclerc to third to finally score his first podium of the 2023 season.

“I more or less knew what the movie was going to be like, except maybe the last laps, which I didn’t expect,” Sainz Snr told DAZN on Sunday. “I knew that the two Red Bulls were going to arrive very strong, and that Charles was going to be there.

“It’s been a weekend to be very happy. From minute one he has been there and making a podium with Ferrari in Monza is a very good result.”

After narrowly preserving his superiority as the lead Ferrari following Leclerc’s initial attack, Sainz radioed in to suggest maintaining positions to the end.

While Leclerc was informed to keep things clean, he was given permission to battle Sainz to the end, marking a complete reversal of Ferrari’s stance in the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix when it informed Sainz to hold position behind his team-mate.

The decision to not use team orders in the final laps at Monza left Sainz Snr perplexed.

“It’s curious. Sometimes they decide some things, sometimes others. It is he who has to ask and understand the strategies, why sometimes they can attack each other and other times not.”

However, Sainz Sr, formerly a two-time WRC Champion, acknowledged that he prefers racing to be conducted without the need for team orders to be used at any stage.

“I am left with the result and third place. Now that it has happened, I prefer it to be like this, without any type of order or anything. Deserved. Congratulations,” he added.

Sainz’s third-place finish at Monza was only Ferrari’s fourth podium of the year amid an inconsistent campaign for the Maranello camp.

However, the Spaniard’s rostrum appearance and Leclerc’s fourth place have enabled Ferrari to move above Aston Martin into third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Max Verstappen claimed a record-breaking tenth consecutive Formula 1 win at the Italian Grand Prix despite staunch defence from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in front of the expectant Tifosi.

The sea of Ferrari fans in attendance at the Temple of Speed would have to settle for a third-place finish for Sainz, as once again there was no stopping Red Bull or the inevitable Verstappen.

With two weeks until the next round in Singapore, who can go into the break with their heads held high, and who has been left with some work to do?

Max Verstappen – 9

Qualified: P2, Race: P1

Ferrari may have been a match for Red Bull, but they weren’t a match for Verstappen. Although he had to fight for it, a record-breaking 10th consecutive F1 win always seemed inevitable. Verstappen displayed a champion’s mentality through his observations in the run-up to his overtake on Carlos Sainz for the race lead.

The Dutchman handled the challenge from Ferrari masterfully and coasted to a confident victory whilst managing a critical issue on the car. Another superb drive from the reigning champion who is simply unstoppable right now.

Sergio Perez – 7.5

Qualified: P5, Race: P2

Perez entered qualifying with pretty limited track time under his belt. A minor crash in FP2 and an engine leak in FP3 meant the Mexican went into qualifying on the back foot, meaning his P5 grid spot came as no surprise to him.

Perez fought hard for fourth with George Russell, slowing his progress up the field. But after finally getting the better of the Mercedes, he swiftly caught up to the Ferrari duo and returned the second Red Bull to where it should have been: directly behind Max Verstappen.

While it was a good performance for Perez on Sunday, it’s hard to ignore his need for an incident-free weekend.

Carlos Sainz – 9

Qualified: P1, Race: P3

Sainz stealing pole from Verstappen at Monza in front of the Tifosi was undoubtedly the feel-good story of the weekend.

As such, for Sainz to lose a podium spot on sacred ground for Ferrari would have been a shame. However, the Spaniard earned the privilege of holding aloft a trophy in red at Monza after a valiant drive.

The polesitter defended heroically against Verstappen but struggled with tyre degradation, which saw him fall off the Red Bull. Unaided by his staunch defence throughout the race, Sainz fended off team-mate Leclerc after a fierce battle between the pair.

A spirited drive that was fairly rewarded with third place.

Charles Leclerc – 7.5

Qualified: P3, Race: P4

Leclerc never looked to match the pace of Sainz over the course of the weekend, but he was able to bide his time and keep pace before the Verstappen found clean air.

Having saved more of his tyres over both stints, Leclerc looked to be the fastest of the two Ferraris as battle commenced in the closing laps. However, a series of lockups and close calls almost brought disaster rather than entertainment and the scrap arguably should have been called off sooner.

Thankfully, the Tifosi were left with something to smile about as both cars survived to finish third and fourth as Leclerc rounded off a solid weekend.

George Russell – 7

Qualified: P4, Race: P5

Russell fought hard and well to defend against Perez in a tussle that saw both drivers make mistakes. However, the Red Bull eventually found its way past, and Russell found himself in relative no-man’s land for the remainder of the race.

That is barring a clumsy incident with Esteban Ocon coming out of the pits. The Mercedes driver was penalised for missing the chicane but still managed a good haul of points for the team.

Lewis Hamilton – 6

Qualified: P8, Race: P6

After a pretty lacklustre performance in qualifying, Hamilton was put on the alternate strategy for the start of the race. The seven-time champion played the opening stint on the Hards patiently before methodically making his way past the opposition.

All was seemingly going well until a collision with Oscar Piastri for which Hamilton was rightfully blamed.

The weekend should have been a celebration for Hamilton after extending his contract. In reality, it never really came together and he was no match for Russell.

Alex Albon – 8.5

Qualified: P6, Race: P7

Another excellent drive for Albon, who claimed a fifth points finish of the season for Williams. Aided by his strong qualifying performance, the Anglo-Thai driver was able to keep a series of faster cars behind at bay thanks to the straight-line prowess of the FW45.

Another addition to the growing list of statement drives for Albon since his arrival at Williams last year.

Logan Sargeant – 5

Qualified: P15, Race: P13

Sargeant threw away an opportunity to impress at Zandvoort and did so again at Monza.

The rookie was presented with the equipment to make another Q3 appearance and potentially challenge for points on Sunday. However, once again, he wasn’t able to extract anywhere near the same performance from the FW45 as Albon.

The American had hovered on the fringes of the points, again benefitting in the race from superior straight-line speed, but his tyres had seen far better days, and he slipped down the order, picking up a time penalty after a tangle with Valtteri Bottas for good measure.

Lando Norris – 6.5

Qualified: P9, Race: P8

McLaren weren’t able to demonstrate the same performance as they had found before the summer break, but the knowledge that a bad day for the team warranted points will be of comfort.

Out-qualified by his rookie team-mate, Norris was able to jump Piastri in the pit cycle – although a slight coming together infuriated Team Principal Andrea Stella. Norris struggled with a lack of top speed but he still stayed ahead of Alonso and Aston Martin.

Oscar Piastri – 6

Qualified: P7, Race: P12

A very impressive Saturday performance from the young rookie to out-qualify his more experienced team-mate for only the third time.

Having worked hard to be the leading McLaren, Piastri was unfortunate to lose out to Norris when the latter was handed an undercut by the team. The pair made contact at Turn 1 but avoided disaster.

Piastri also found himself in a coming together with Hamilton, which the Briton apologised for. The McLaren driver was also penalised for his creative interpretation of the track layout when passing Liam Lawson to compound a frustrating end to a weekend that had started promisingly.

Fernando Alonso – 6.5

Qualified: P10, Race: P9

Monza felt like a return to reality for Aston Martin and Alonso. The podium performance in Zandvoort last weekend was an already distant memory as the 42-year-old endured an “anonymous” Italian Grand Prix.

After repassing Hulkenberg, the Spaniard benefitted from Piastri’s tangle with Hamilton but anything higher than ninth couldn’t have been expected on a horrid track for the AMR23.

Lance Stroll – 4

Qualified: P20, Race: P16

Nothing seemed to go Stroll’s way this weekend. He missed FP1 as Felipe Drugovich completed his first outing of the season, and then was again on the sidelines for FP2 after grinding to a stop following two sighter laps.

One day behind his competitors, Stroll was on the back foot for the remainder of the weekend. Qualifying 20th and last, the Canadian failed to make an impact in the race after struggling with tyre management issues, eventually getting caught by those who opted for the two-stop.

Valtteri Bottas – 7

Qualified: P14, Race: P10

Things finally seemed to come together for Bottas in what has been a rather disappointing season for the Finn. Profiting from the inverse tyre strategy, Bottas found himself in the perfect place to pick up places when those around faced trouble.

He still had to dislodge the faster car of Sargeant for the final point but did so and maintained the pace to preserve tenth.

Guanyu Zhou – 5

Qualified: P16, Race: P14

Zhou had a pretty anonymous race in Monza, getting out-raced and out-qualified by his more experienced team-mate. Zhou was placed on the two-stop but was unable to extract the pace required to ever threaten the points in the closing stages of the race.

Liam Lawson – 8

Qualified: P12, Race: P11

Liam Lawson was aiming for a more straightforward weekend than that of his maiden grand prix outing in Zandvoort last weekend. The New Zealander remained focused all weekend and got on with his job with impressive maturity, avoiding trouble throughout.

Lawson matched his team-mate in qualifying, narrowly missing out on Q3, but would lose his benchmark for the race as Yuki Tsunoda’s AT04 gave up on the formation lap.

Lawson drove consistently throughout the race and could have had a chance at points if the team hadn’t converted to a two-stop strategy.

Yuki Tsunoda – 6

Qualified: P11, Race: DNS

It would be unjust to award Tsunoda anything lower than a ‘baseline’ six out of ten for his Italian Grand Prix. A race AlphaTauri has twice won, Tsunoda’s Sunday afternoon was over before the end of the formation lap as he ground to a halt on the back straight.

Tsunoda had looked to be in good form on Friday and qualified well on Saturday. A case of what could have been.

Pierre Gasly– 5

Qualified: P17, Race: P15

Just like Alonso, Gasly was also faced with the reality of Alpine’s performance struggles this season. The team were grossly uncompetitive all weekend, as brutally revealed by qualifying.

The race was not much different for Gasly and Alpine who, with nothing to lose, gambled on a Medium-Hard-Medium strategy. The strategy was insignificant, and the end of the race was welcomed.

Esteban Ocon – 5

Qualified: P18, Race: DNF

Similar struggles faced Ocon in the wholly uncompetitive Alpine.

Ocon quietly retired from the race after picking up steering issues in what accurately summed up the horrid weekend Alpine endured.

Nico Hulkenberg – 6

Qualified: P13, Race: P17

It was a case of déjà vu for Hulkenberg, who again qualified his Haas well and made forward progress at the start. That was of course until Haas’ recurrent tyre degradation issues led to him falling back down the order after being forced onto a two-stop strategy.

The potential and pace for points are clearly there for Hulkenberg, but Haas must get on top of the tyre woes to realise that potential.

Kevin Magnussen – 5

Qualified: P19, Race: P18

It was also a pretty terrible day on the other half of the Haas garage as Magnussen struggled home to 18th and last on Sunday. The Dane was one of the first to pit despite starting on the Hard tyre in a call indicative of the sincerity of Haas’ difficulties.

Again, Magnussen was outclassed by Hulkenberg but the focus should instead be placed on the need for changes and improvement at Haas.

Carlos Sainz reckons his Italian Grand Prix performance was his strongest weekend with Ferrari, but he has stopped short of heralding it the best of his Formula 1 career.

After being pipped by Max Verstappen in the opening practice hour, Sainz topped the times in both FP2 and FP3 before narrowly beating the reigning champion and team-mate Charles Leclerc to pole position.

The Spaniard proceeded to defend resolutely from Verstappen in the opening stages and Sergio Perez later on, but he eventually succumbed to the pressure of the Red Bulls.

However, Sainz was able to resist many overtaking attempts from Leclerc in the closing laps to ensure he was the Ferrari driver attending the podium ceremony alongside the two Red Bull drivers.

When asked if he thought it was his best weekend overall in F1, Sainz, who ended his extended wait for a podium in 2023 with third at Monza, said: “Well, I’m not sure in F1. I’ve done other strong weekends in F1 that maybe got a bit unnoticed when I was in the midfield where I felt I extracted everything out of the car. Of this year, for sure, of my Ferrari career probably. 

“Of my F1 career, it’s a tough call but I felt like this weekend I was on it from the beginning, comfortable with the car especially over one lap. I felt really, really at home and I could put together strong laps yesterday and snatch pole but today was again a bit tougher and it shows me exactly where we need to keep working on and where I will put my head down and keep pushing the team to keep working on our tyre understanding and our race pace understanding.”

Although Sainz was wary of Red Bull being substantially faster than Ferrari in race trim, the ex-McLaren driver admitted on Saturday he was targeting beating Red Bull to the win.

Having been able to keep Verstappen at bay for several laps, Sainz concedes that he began to increasingly think he had a shot at taking a famous Ferrari victory at Monza “halfway through” his first stint.

“I felt like I had fairly under control but then I think I… around Lap 10 to 12, I started filling the rear left tyre giving up a lot, like a lot earlier than I would have expected,” he explained.

“At that point, I realised I had used my tyres too much and probably to keep Max behind, I had worn that rear-left tyre too much and that I was going to suffer a lot for the rest of the race because it was going to probably make me box early into a hard tyre. And then the second stint was going to be very long. It’s exactly what happened and my feeling was correct.

“But yeah, honestly, I didn’t expect to degrade so much but it was clear that I was pushing very, very hard to keep them behind. Probably harder than what the car, or what I should have done.”

Fernando Alonso was left frustrated by an “anonymous” Italian Grand Prix after finishing ninth in what he described as one of the ‘most difficult races of the year’ for his Aston Martin team.

The two-time World Champion crossed the line just eight-tenths of a second behind Lando Norris, having been unable to overhaul the McLaren driver in the closing stages.

“Obviously, many lessons to take from this race,” the Spaniard said. “We weren’t competitive so that’s the main focus for us, trying to understand what we need to do different on this type of circuit.

“It is frustrating because it was a very demanding race, mentally and physically, to drive the car with very low grip. It was very tricky to drive, one of the most difficult races of the year for me and the worst result [for me this year].

“An anonymous race that no one will remember, but I will do in my head because it has been a tough one. But as I said, hopefully good lessons to take from here from the car, the data that we have from the race and we get better next time.”

Alonso scored three consecutive third-place finishes to open the campaign, with a second-place finish last weekend at Zandvoort bringing his tally to seven podiums this season.

However, the Spaniard’s ninth-place finish at Monza matches his lowest result of the season to date, with Alonso’s strong showing in the Netherlands only briefly stopping the recent slowing of momentum at Aston Martin from its early-season heroics.

Alonso is now calling for improvements to be made to Aston Martin, with the British outfit having dropped behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

“I think the car and the efficiency of the car is maybe not as it should be for this kind of track,” he added. “It seems to have been our weakness and we know that. Now we need to get better and bring some new ideas.

“I think we are executing the maximum from the car. Sometimes unfortunately it’s ninth like today, sometimes its second like last week. But we are not doing any mistakes, with the strategy or the pitstops – not making any big mistakes our competitors made at the beginning of the year so we have a good gap in terms of points.

“It’s getting closer, even Ferrari I think is ahead of us now with this result, so let’s bounce back in Singapore.”

Alonso is cautious about his chances of adding to his 2008 and 2010 victories at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but he remains more hopeful than he was ahead of last weekend.

“It will be better than Monza for sure! But to win a race, we know how tough it is with Red Bull being outstanding every Sunday,” he noted.

“So, we will see we are contenders in Singapore. I’m not sure. Every weekend the order seems to change.

“The last two street circuits, Alpine was very strong with Esteban in Monaco and in Baku it was Ferrari dominating with Leclerc on pole position. So let’s see in Singapore.”

Sergio Perez says he is “more comfortable” with Red Bull’s 2023 Formula 1 car after making recent “progress on the set-up side”.

The Mexican revelled in his “best Friday in a while” at the Italian Grand Prix, but a spin late in FP2 and a subsequent oil leak on Saturday morning, necessitating a switch to an older power unit within his allocation, saw Perez only qualify fifth for Sunday’s race.

However, he was able to overtake George Russell and the two Ferraris to follow team-mate Max Verstappen home, handing Red Bull its first-ever 1-2 finish at Monza.

Perez says he was satisfied to recover to score his eighth podium of the year, but he was made to rue a “terrible Saturday” putting him out of contention for the win.

“Very pleased [with second place] – but we had a terrible Saturday in terms of the issues we had in FP3 with the car that really put us back in qualifying. So, I think we could have a better starting position, which definitely will have put us a lot closer in the fight for victory,” he contended.

Verstappen’s Monza triumph marked his 10th straight win, setting a new outright record number for the most consecutive victories by a driver in Formula 1 history.

However, Perez has struggled to match his two-time World Champion team-mate, only finishing second to Verstappen on three occasions during the Dutchman’s record run.

Expanding on the reasons for his slump, Perez admitted ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that the RB19 had drifted away from him since the beginning of the year, resulting in him needing to reinvent his driving style.

But, following extensive work behind the scenes, the six-time F1 race winner underlines that his side of the garage has since made a breakthrough with the set-up of the car, leaving him to declare “we will see the best form” of Perez in the next races.

“But certainly, we made a lot of progress, which is a positive thing,” he continued. “I think we’ve done very good set of directions, and then some work with the suspension as well. And I’m able to feel quite a lot more comfortable.”

Fathoming a return to a sweeter spot inside the cockpit has come at the ideal time for Perez, with a trip to Singapore next on the agenda. The 33-year-old mastered changing conditions expertly last year to clinch the victory, which remains his latest win to date.

Verstappen believes that the Marina Bay Circuit will prove to be “a little bit more difficult” for Red Bull, who are attempting to become the first team ever to go unbeaten.

Asked whether he agrees with his team-mate’s assessment, Perez responded: “I think so. I agree with Max, I think it’s going to be a weekend where basically anything can happened, and hopefully we are able to have a very strong Saturday, because if you don’t start in the front row, it’s very unlikely that you will have a shot at the victory.

“So hopefully we can repeat what we did last year there.”

Carlos Sainz was robbed outside of a Milan hotel after his Italian GP podium heroics at Monza with three men attempting to steal a watch with a six-figure price tag.

The Ferrari driver, who claimed third for Ferrari in front of the adoring Tifosi at Monza, had his day blighted when exiting the Armani Hotel.

The three men implicated in the incident, alleged to be aged between 18 and 20, snatched the Spaniard’s Alexander Zverev Richard Mille watch.

Fortunately, Sainz and a number of his personnel were able to retrieve the valuable item, deemed to be worth in the region of £235,000, and the robbers were handed over to the police.

After Sainz, his personnel trainer, manager and other personnel gave chase by car and on foot, all three of the robbers were caught and the watch was recovered.

Occurring only hours after the Italian GP, the dramatic and no-doubt frightening incident is the last thing the Spaniard would have wanted after what was otherwise a successful day.

In response to the incident, Sainz took to social media, to alleviate the concerns of his many followers.

“As many of you already know, yesterday we experienced an unfortunate incident in Milano,” Sainz wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“The most important thing is that we are all OK and this will only remain as an unpleasant anecdote.

“Many thanks to all the people who helped us yesterday, to the Milan police for their quick intervention and thanks for all your messages.”

With the situation put to bed, Sainz can look forward to the next round of the Formula 1 World Championship, with the Asian flyaway races beginning with the Singapore Grand Prix on the weekend of 15-17 September.

Sainz currently sits fifth in the Drivers’ Championship with 117 points, one place and six points ahead of team-mate Leclerc.