Ferrari loses Monza in the opening two laps

Ferrari started third and fourth after Oscar Piastri’s penalty, but its home race unravelled almost immediately. Lewis Hamilton attacked Charles Leclerc into Turn 1, the two Ferraris ran very close together and Hamilton went through the gravel at the second chicane, dropping to the edge of the top 10.

One lap later, Leclerc lost the rear exiting Parabolica and hit the barriers. He was unhurt, but the damage to the protection triggered a red flag.

Leclerc said he had already felt unusual behaviour when getting back on the throttle on lap one, then again before the crash. Ferrari still has to establish whether it was simply a loss of control or whether a technical issue contributed.

Hamilton recovered to sixth, 24.655 seconds behind Antonelli, scoring Ferrari’s only eight points. Mercedes took 43 and now leads the constructors’ standings 468 to 346, stretching the gap from 87 to 122 in a single race.

The next round is Madrid at the new Madring on 11–13 September. Ferrari arrives under extra pressure to understand Leclerc’s crash and prevent Mercedes from turning Monza into a decisive championship break.