Nothing is more beautiful than the Italian anthem
I know, I know, another post on F1, but unfortunately these are the weeks of racing here in Italy and between home and work keep me company.
On Sunday the race was run in Monza, first of all I say that I am very sorry I did not go there, but because of the covid the public was forbidden.
And I’m even more sorry because it really was a crazy race, but as beautiful as we hadn’t seen for a while.
The Ferrari, and consequently the driver I prefer most unfortunately did not finish the race, to say how disappointing this team (not the drivers) this year is to say little, race after race is always worse, but there was someone else who made us hear the Italian anthem this year, a guy who let’s face it, not even he would have imagined to be on the top step of the podium.
We could talk about how evolved the history of the team that won, based in Faenza and therefore Italian, that once was Minardi, historical name in racing, then Toro Rosso, and from this year Alpha Tauri, how 12 years later a driver has won for the second time a grand prize for this team that is a team from the middle of the ranking usually, we can talk about everything but I want to talk about the one who won it, Pierre Gasly.
I do not like the French, Pierre is the exception. I love Pierre as if he were my younger brother, thanks to Pierre I was moved for a podium, and even while I was watching the reruns.
Pierre deserved that race, and the compliments from all the motorsport world and his colleagues are proof of it.
Pierre two years ago ran in Toro Rosso, first year in F1, he had had a good season, which led him to be promoted to Red Bull, one of the 3 strongest teams on the grid, but in Red Bull things were not so simple.
The races were going badly, the pressure was great, the points were few. To the point that in Red Bull they did what they always do, exchange drivers with Toro Rosso, starting from the gp of Belgium Pierre returned downgraded to a minor team and Alex Albon promoted to Red Bull. And with hindsight we just have to thank this exchange, because it gave new life to Pierre.
That Grand Prix of Belgium cursed. He raced again with the Italian team and that always supported him, less pressure, more psychological tranquility, it’s a pity that that Saturday, that weekend fate took away one of his dearest friends from Pierre. We all witnessed that accident, helpless in front of the TV. Accident occurred during the F2 race, Anthoine Hubert left while doing something he loved, leaving an immense void in the hearts of those who loved him. That Sunday, before starting the F1 race, Pierre approached Charles Leclerc, Ferrari driver and also a great friend of Anthoine, and simply told him “win for Tonio”, and he did, Charles won his first F1 race in Belgium, on that track that had taken away a dear friend of his, very poetically we all think that Tonio from up there celebrated that victory with them. A year later, Pierre still drives the Toro Rosso, or rather Alpha Tauri, and when he arrived in Belgium the first thing he did was to bring flowers to where Tonio left.
And after Belgium comes Monza, the Grand Prix of Italy. Pierre has now moved to Milan, driving a car based in Italy. Nobody would have ever bet that it would have been his turn to make us hear our hymn, 12 years before it was the turn of a very young Sebastian Vettel, at the time he drove a Toro Rosso, he was 21 years old, and under the flood he won in Monza his first race, and the first race of the Faenza team. He had made us excited, the one who had as a mentor a certain Micheal Schumacher.
A crazy race, sometimes even absurd, just Vettel because of a breakage of the brakes of his Ferrari was forced to retire after seven laps, on lap 19 Pierre is called for the pitstop, then a series of events shuffles all the cards on the table. Magnussen stops at the entrance of the pit lane, the safety car enters, two drivers, including Hamilton who is currently the best driver on the grid, make the pit stop and take a penalty that forces them to restart from the bottom, Charles Leclerc goes to the wall with the other Ferrari and the race is interrupted with subsequent resumption … and Pierre finds himself there, in front of everyone. And he wins it, struggling to keep behind Sainz who was about to pass him with the McLaren until the last corner. He won it like that. We all cheered for him, because he deserved it, we were not present at the circuit, but everyone from home on the couch was there with him, under the podium to celebrate him. He too was incredulous, 12 years later he brought the Faenza team back on the top step, 12 years later to what is his reference driver (yes Pierre is a fan of Vettel).
Charles at the end of the race went to hug him, just as he did a year before in Belgium, everyone went to hug him.
And the next day you think about it and you notice that he won because it was providential the pit call on lap 19. And 19 was the number that Anthoine Hubert had when he ran in F2. It’s probably a coincidence, but who knows…
He won for himself, he won for Tonio.
And I’m still here, I’m still moved when I see the images of Sunday.
Thank you Pierre, you made us remember why we love this sport.
