Charles Leclerc climbed up the podum after winning the Sunday race for Ferrari, he almost got lost amidst the fog. Plumes of dense red smoke rose in thick clouds over the heads of thousands of red-clad fans packed tightly in the start-finish straight beneath; their roar a thing approaching thunder. The tifosi embraced this chance to party as they had not had any reasons to rejoice for their team during the home race for a very long time.

With the flares releasing smoke into the sky as in Apocalypse Now, the mood at McLaren was no less than ominous. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris who were out raced by Leclerc and could only finish second and third respectively had those tells of disappointment etched on their faces, no words necessary.

The chance of a one-two finish was gone, and more worryingly, Norris’s chances of a reliability haul to get a lot closer to Max Verstappen in the final standings had gone too. If Norris succeeds to take the title fight to the final race, the team’s strategy at Monza will be questioned.

“I mean Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year,” said Leclerc, who is from Monaco. “Obviously I want to win as many races as possible, and the World Championship as soon as possible, but these are the two most important races of the season and I managed to win them this year. It’s so, so special.”

For Leclerc, that call proved to be the right one in retrospect. He boldly fought off the young talents Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren although his tires were worn out.

The passionate and energetic fans dressed in red started standing, clapping and stamping their feet every time they saw Leclerc crossing the line. The fans cheered as he finally made it across the finish line 2. 3755 milliseconds ahead than Piastri.

Norris ended behind Leclerc he finished 6.153 seconds, reducing the gap to the Verstappen – the championship leader – down to 62 points.

Ferrari had only emerged winners in the last 14 races at Monza with the last achievement been Leclerc in 2019 and this was their home soil. Led by followers from the Italian team, they were only able to finish third with Carlos Sainz the previous year with Leclerc finishing second in 2022 before yesterday’s triumph.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Leclerc said. “Actually I thought that the first time would just feel like this, and then the second time — if there was a second time — wouldn’t feel as special, but my god, the emotions in the last few laps, exactly the same like in 2019.”

Emerging victorious this time, making the tifosi’s dreams come true and finally putting an end to their long suffering for another shot at tasting the sweetness of winning on home soil.

Monaco, his home grand prix, Leclerc was able to secure his second victory of the year, a victory that was just as dramatic as his maiden triumph.

Leclerc started behind the two McLarens who qualified on the front row after having been fourth on the grid at Monza. There were many speculations that team orders might be provided as Norris was one of the championship’s contenders.

Piastri overtook his partner at the second chicane while McLarens, which generally starts behind others, had an excellent start this time. Leclerc gave it his best shot and overtook with so much precision that Norris was left behind in the third place.

Leclerc was outstanding and determined to keep Piastri behind despite the fact that his tires would reach the 40 laps mark soon.

On his birthday, Carlos Sainz Jr. came fourth while Lewis Hamilton is the new Ferrari driver for the following season.

Young driver George Russell, who is a teammate of Hamilton in Mercedes, also had a tough beginning, though later managed to finish in the sixth place. Max Verstappen of Red Bull was behind Perez, with Kevin Magnussen and Alex Albon occupying the tenth place.

In his first F1 race, another rookie, Franco Colapinto, competing for Williams, earned a respectable 12th place. This was a lot better than the majority of the finishes Logan Sargeant, the driver he replaced, had made earlier in the year save for one.

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McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris completed the podium positions just behind Leclerc, adding a noteworthy chapter to their season.