The Formula 1 edit

Ciao everyone and welcome to one of the most anticipated F1 tracks of the campaign, Monza! Max Verstappen starts on pole position with both Papaya drivers, Lando Norris in 2nd and Oscar Piastri in 3rd, trailing closely behind.

the race

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)— Held onto first during the start of the race. Was almost passed by Lando Norris at the start then drove off the track. Told to give first to Norris in lap 2, he gave the lead to Norris and took 2nd, then he re-took the race lead in lap 4. Went in for a pit stop in lap 38 and lost the lead to Norris and Piastri, put on a pair of hard tires, and exited the pit lane with impressive speed. Won the race by a lead over 2nd of 19.139 seconds!
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)—Attempted to overtake the lead at the start and was momentarily pushed into the grass by Verstappen. Max drove off the track but Norris argued that first position should be his because he stayed within track limits. Red Bull’s race engineer told Verstappen to give the lead to Norris, he was given first, only to lose the lead to Verstappen in lap 4. Took first when Verstappen pitted in lap 38. Pitted a lap after his teammate but didn’t have such a quick pit stop as Piastri! His pit stop was 5.9 seconds, which resulted in a significant loss in time over the now lead, Max Verstappen. The team decided to have Lando let Piastri pass to cover Leclerc, so Piastri passed Lando and took 2nd. The McLaren race engineers let Piastri know that they needed him to let Lando pass. Lando took 2nd due to Papaya rules.
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)—Was overtook by Leclerc for 3rd place within the first few turns of lap 1. He reclaimed 3rd a few turns later, but was passed by Leclerc again in lap 2. He took 3rd back from Leclerc in lap 6. Pitted for soft tires in lap 46 and exited the pit lane with a stop of 1.9 seconds! Was told to pass Norris to cover Leclerc when his teammate came out of the pit lane, so he did just that! Piastri to 2nd. In lap 49, the team decided to change their minds! Oscar was told to let Norris pass and then he was free to race, Oscar begrudgingly obliged, he let Norris pass for 2nd and fell back to 3rd.
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)—Overtook Piastri for third in the first lap, but got demoted back to fourth by Piastri a few turns later. He overtook Piastri again for 3rd in lap 2, only to lose 3rd to Piastri again in lap 6.
5. George Russell (Mercedes)—Started the race in 5th and ended in the same position!
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)— Passed Alonso for 7th in lap 5. Overtook Bortoleto for 6th in lap 7.
7. Alexander Albon (Williams)—Had a tricky time overtaking Antonelli for 9th in lap 42, but came out ahead of the 19 year old. Ended 7th.
8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)— Lost 6th to Hamilton in lap 7. Ended 8th.
9. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)—Went late on the brakes and passed Tsunoda for P9 in lap 18. Lost 9th to Alexander Albon in lap 42. Albon advanced and Kimi ended in 9th.
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)— Started in P16 and made his way up to 10th.
11. Carlos Sainz (Williams)—Crashed into Bearman when the rookie attempted to overtake The Smooth Operator for 13th. Neither car had to retire. Ended 11th.
12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)—Tried to go around the inside of Sainz for P13 in lap 41 but ended up banging wheels, sending them both into a pirouette competition. They both recovered from the accident. A ten-second time penalty was issued to the Brit for causing a collision. Ended 12th.
13. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)— Passed by Antonelli for 9th in lap 18. Banged wheels with Lawson in lap 28. Lawson passed him while they were both off track but Yuki was told to overtake Lawson and take his place back later in the lap. Ended 13th.
14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)—Banged wheels with Tsunoda in lap 28, sending them both off the track momentarily. He took the lead over Tsunoda but was told to give the position back later in the lap. Ended 14th.
15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)—Awarded a 5-second penalty for pushing Stroll off the track when he attempted to overtake him. Ended 15th.
16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)— Started 19th and ended 16th.
17. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)—Started 18th and ended 17th.
18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)—Attempted to go around the outside of Esteban Ocon but ended up being pushed off the track. Ended 18th.
19. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) (DNF)—Lost 7th to Hamilton in lap 5. Drove over the curb and sparks flew from the back of the Aston Martin, he then retired from the race due to suspension failure in lap 25.
20. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) (DNF)—Was told to retire his car before the race even began.

What a tension filled and action packed race! This was the fastest race in the history of F1 racing at a time of an hour and 13 minutes! The Italian Ferrari Tifosi were certainly hoping for a Ferrari win like last year at the same circuit, but they still cheered for the Dutchman when he took his place upon the stop podium step! I’ll see you in Azerbaijan!