Source :- THE AGE NEWS
After a 30-minute delay, the race has restarted with a standing restart.
George Russell (now the race-leader) has a strong start and holds position into the turn, while Pierre Gasly also manages to hold on to second – fighting off his teammate Franco Colapinto who goes flying into the grave but manages to salvage his car and remain in the race.
Kimi Antonelli – who started in 19th – is now into sixth place.
The youngster is very much in this race and is now tailing Australian Oscar Piastri.
Hope you weren’t planning on going to bed anytime soon folks.
We’ve heard from the FIA that there will be at least a 15-minute delay, while marshals rush to fix the barriers damaged by Leclerc’s crash.
This incident has completely changed the race strategies for many drivers.
Oscar Piastri is now up into fifth place, with George Russell leading the race and Pierre Gasly in second and Max Verstappen in third .
The race will restart at 11.39pm AEST.
The cameras have cut to devastated Ferrari fans in the crowd at Monza, who are crying and learning on each other’s shoulders.
Ferrari is basically a religion in Italy and Leclerc’s retirement is understandably awful for the thousands of fans gathered.
Leclerc’s crash has triggered a red flag and the race has now been delayed while marshalls race to clear the debris and repair the barriers.
Oh no!
Charles Leclerc is out of this race
The Ferrari driver has slammed into the barrier, sending gravel ricocheting into the air. The Monégasque has emerged from the smashed vehicle unscathed, but he looks devastated.
The incident occurred when Australian Oscar Piastri was trying to pass Leclerc.
We are still waiting to understand what happened to Leclerc, but initial replays look like a potential torque spike.
The pit exit is now closed and the race has been halted while the barrier is repaired.
Lights out and we are racing!
Our pole-sitter Pierre Gasly gets a decent start and manages to hold off a surging George Russell into the first chicane.
But Russell is flying and manages to catch Gasly by lap 2.
Suddenly, Hamilton is in the gravel.
“Charles pushed me off,” The seven-time world champion says over the radio.
It’s 10 minutes until race time folks so grab your popcorn and settle in.
While we count down, I thought I’d entertain and educate you with some fun facts about the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, or as it is affectionately dubbed, the Temple of Speed.
Shaped like a boot, the circuit is 5.793km with 53 laps, and has some of the best overtaking spots on the F1 calendar.
The Italian fans are out in full force, however championship leader Kimi Antonelli is staring in 19th.
It’s close to my usual bedtime, so I had to rub my eyes and blink twice when Lightning McQueen appeared at the Monza GP.
Pixar’s famous car will line up alongside F1 safety car today, celebrating the anniversary of the original Cars movie, released in July 2006.
Ka-chow!
