Why Ricciardo was set for Monza F1 triumph even without Verstappen/Hamilton crash

The clash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was the major flashpoint the 2021 Italian Grand Prix will be remembered for. Yet by this point, race leader Daniel Ricciardo had already done the hard work that would put him in position to end his and McLaren's lengthy win droughts, on a memorable afternoon in Monza

Alex Kalinauckas Sep 13, 2021, 8:18 AM

Upd: Sep 13, 2021, 8:27 AM

“We earned it. We were leading. We were putting ourselves in a great position – the team made good pitstops. We put ourselves in a winning position and it wasn’t circumstances. We can sleep knowing that we earned every bit of this.”

Daniel Ricciardo was entirely correct in his assessment of McLaren’s 2021 Italian Grand Prix result. The Australian won the race in front of team-mate Lando Norris, while title contenders Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton controversially clashed twice – the second contretemps putting both out and leaving the Mercedes driver dangerously close to being seriously injured.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.