McLaren made full advantage of Daniel Riccardo and Lando Norris’ excellent qualifying performances in the Italian Grand Prix, claiming the first 1-2 finish of the 2021 Formula One season.
The last time McLaren won a Formula One race was at Interlagos in 2012, which was the weekend before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
On Sunday, though, Daniel Riccardo ended the run by winning the race ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who finished second.
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl highlighted his pride in the team’s performance throughout the weekend, which saw the duo qualify in second and third places, respectively, owing to three and four results in the sprint race.
“First of all, I’m just happy and proud of the team today. I’m very proud of every single member of the team back home, here at the track, colleagues at Mercedes and Lando and Daniel.”
Riccardo found himself leading a Grand Prix for the first time since 2018 after a fantastic start that saw him take the lead from former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen into turn one.
Verstappen was unable to go by his former teammate despite having DRS and making many close efforts.
After one of the several fights between championship rivals Verstappen and Hamilton, Norris was able to take back third place from Lewis Hamilton.
Norris, who had held off Hamilton during the sprint race, continued to do so during the race, keeping the seven-time world champion at bay for 23 laps.
While Hamilton was eventually able to pass Norris, a major accident between the championship rivals allowed Norris to rise back into second place.
Despite constant pressure from teammates Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, Norris was able to earn a career-best result by finishing second behind just his teammate.
McLaren has reclaimed third place in the constructor standings from Ferrari, and Daniel Riccardo has moved up to eighth place in the driver standings with this 1-2 finish, the first for any team in the 2021 season.
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