Second podium for a great Carlos Sainz, one step away from glory at Monza

A race like this at Monza, with two starts from the grid, with the Mercedes away from the podium, with the Ferraris and

out of combat, with so much regulatory scramble, is not enjoyed every day.

Such a Sunday at Monza is a great success for

, although he still may not believe it.

The McLaren leader was second behind

, a Frenchman from Alpha Tauri who endured the Spanish's final onslaught with unprecedented poise.

The triumph for Sainz escaped, only 41 hundredths of the glory, but all the 'Ferraristas' took good note of what awaits in the future.

The first radio message to his engineer,

, was tinged with grief: "I've been so close. I would have needed one more lap."

Later, on the podium, Carlos gathered a bit more calm to digest it better.

McLaren will still have to wait to reissue its last victory, with

in 2012. Sainz could not complete his unbridled pursuit of the last 10 laps, although he did show the world his mettle as a great driver.

The overtaking of

on lap 34, in the Variante del Rettifilo, must be kept in the anthology of this World Cup.

With 19 laps to go and Gasly's rear wing as the last hurdle, victory was at hand.

If he escaped, because of the great driving of the Frenchman, powered by his Honda engine, there is not too much regret.

"You go second, you don't have to make mistakes," they had sung to him on the radio.

"Yes, but I want to win," he replied.

Too bad for an electrifying date.

Bottas, nailed to the exit

Everything was shaping up for a routine victory for Hamilton, who started from pole and could only finish seventh.

Everything seemed chewed for Mercedes, but at the beginning the matter was cut short.

The mystery of what the hell happened in

car remains

.

"A puncture or something," lamented the Finn, overwhelmed by events.

Its engineers denied the major while its pilot also lost ground to sixth position.

"I can't run with this engine configuration. This is a joke," he later exclaimed, when his deficit was 20 seconds.

In his rear-view mirror he glimpsed Verstappen, the author of another terrible start-up.

The only options for both were to save energy and tires to extend their relief.

That's where we were when a breakdown in

blew everything up.

The Haas seemed removed from any trajectory, but

, race director, was cured in health with the 'safety car'.

Mercedes reacted immediately by calling Hamilton.

Too fast, too hastily.

The pit-lane had been closed to everyone.

Including

, the only one who followed in the footsteps of the hexacampeón.

Decisive 'stop and go'

The stewards, after a brief deliberation, sanctioned the Italian Alfa Romeo with a 'stop and go': 10 seconds without moving, about 32 total punishment.

The same punishment for Hamilton, whose chances of victory were completely fading.

Mercedes reported everything to the six-time champion just after

accident

at the Parabolica.

With the Ferrari smashed against the barriers, Masi raised the red flag and stopped the race.

All the cars went into the pits, waiting for the operators to repair the guards.

Half an hour of tension.

Especially for

, the only one who could take advantage of the red flag to change the tires.

Also for Hamilton, whose indignation led him on a scooter to ask Masi for an explanation.

A scene typical of the most unchained

.

The work for the race director did not end there, who opted for a restart from the grid, instead of the pit-lane, the most common solution.

Sainz had slipped to sixth place, in the wake of a nerve-racking Stroll.

At Turn 4, the Canadian from Racing Point went long, like a rookie.

The error forced him to give way and although he wanted to react, Carlos hit him back with astonishing coldness.

Podium for Stroll

Hamilton, when fulfilling his 'stop and go', rolled half a minute from the head.

With a hard tire, without spaces to exploit the power of the Mercedes, he had run out of epic options.

It was even worse for Verstappen, who only endured three laps before getting out of the car with a very bad feeling.

Not even Bottas seemed in a position to shake Norris off his back, in a tough fight for the podium with Norris.

The Briton fought with his usual courage, despite that previous maneuver in the 'pit-lane', in which he had slowed down the entire peloton.

The podium, to which Stroll climbed, eluded him by 2.6 seconds.

In any case they can be more than satisfied in Woking.

Sainz, leading for a lap, brushing the glory with his fingers, made them relive old golden moments.

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