Nothing is more beautiful than the Italian anthem
I know, I know, another post on F1, but unfortunately these are racing weeks here in Italy, and between home and work they keep me company.
On Sunday the race was run in Monza. First of all, let me I say that I’m very sorry I couldn’t attend in person, but because of Covid there was no audience allowed.
And I'm even more sorry because it really was a crazy race, one as beautiful as we haven’t seen in a while.
Ferrari - and consequently the driver I prefer most - unfortunately did not finish the race. To say how disappointing this team (not the drivers) has been this year is to say little; race after race things get 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 the history of the team that won has evolved: based in Faenza - and therefore Italian -, it was once Minardi, historical name in racing, then Toro Rosso, and from this year it’s Alpha Tauri. We could talk about how 12 years later a driver has won for the second time a grand prize for this team - a team that’s usually from the middle of the ranking. We can talk about anything, but I want to talk about the one who won it: Pierre Gasly.
I don’t usually like the French, but Pierre is the exception. I love Pierre as if he were my younger brother. Thanks to Pierre I felt moved because of a winning, and I was even while I was watching the reruns.
Pierre deserved that race, and the compliments from all of the motorsport world and his colleagues are proof of it.
Two years ago, Pierre ran in Toro Rosso, his 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 got 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 was cursed. He raced again with the Italian team that always supported him, there was less pressure, it was more psychologically relaxed. It's a pity that on that Saturday, fate took away one of Pierre’s dearest friends. We all witnessed that accident, helpless in front of the TV. The 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 died.
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, but because of a breakage of the brakes of his Ferrari, Vettel 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, struggling to keep in front of Sainz who was about to surpass him with the McLaren until the very 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, and everyone else went to hug him too.
And the next day you think about it, and you notice that he won because the pit call on lap 19 was providential. 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.
