Extraordinary victory in the DTM championship maiden outing at Monza for the Red Bull AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 driven by Liam Lawson. Excellent performance also for the second Ferrari, courtesy of Alex Albon, who narrowly missed out on third place.
At the end of the 50-minute race, the undercut strategy of those who pitted first paid off, with Lawson changing tyres on lap nine, while opponents stayed out on track a few laps longer. The two AF Corse drivers make their intentions clear from the get-go, gaining ground over the opening turns. On lap 12 Lawson, holding eighth place after the bustle of pit stops, manoeuvres in behind Vincent Abril, fresh out of the pits and, in the earlier stages, race leader.
The mandatory stops of the immediate rivals continue, with Lawson maintaining a formidable pace. The crunch comes on lap 24, when the new race leader, Maximilian Buhk, enters the pits: the advantage accumulated by Lawson is more than enough to snatch the top spot, holding on to it right through to the chequered flag. Albon puts pedal to the metal until he reaches fourth place, marginally off the podium.
"At Ferrari we are very pleased with the win in this first race of the 2021 DTM championship season, which marks the beginning of a new GT3 era in the renowned German series" said Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari AttivitĂ Sportive GT. "It gives us great satisfaction to be able to prevail over the other prestigious brands who have participated, showing the validity of the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. We hope to be able to keep up these performances throughout the season".
Race 2. Getting underway on Sunday at 10:10, will be the twenty minutes to define the starting grid for Race 2, set to start at 13:30.