Max Verstappen’s legacy as one of Formula 1’s all-time greats has been enhanced after the Dutchman claimed a record 10th consecutive grand prix victory.
Key points:
Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix, starting secondVerstappen now holds the record for 10 consecutive F1 winsHe leads his teammate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ championship by 145 points
The Dutchman won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, extending his lead in the drivers’ championship and claiming Red Bull’s 15th consecutive win.
Verstappen headed his teammate Sergio Perez who finished second, followed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The double world champion said he never thought winning 10 races on the trot was going to happen.
“I never would have believed [10] was possible but we had to work for it today, so that was fun,” Verstappen said.
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The drama started before the race began, with AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda pulling over on the formation lap, reporting an engine failure.
This led to the race start being delayed for 20 minutes.
Sainz got a great start and held off Verstappen into the opening corner, with his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in third.
Verstappen was hunting down the leading Spaniard, but Sainz was not flinching in the opening laps, holding off the Red Bull driver’s attacks.
The Dutchman finally got his opportunity on lap 15 when Sainz locked his wheels into the first corner, giving Verstappen the momentum to overtake the Spaniard into the chicane of turns 4 and 5.
The top four drivers — Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc and Perez — all pitted between laps 20 and 22.
Verstappen was a class above the rest for the remainder of the race, pulling clear and never looking threatened.
Sainz, Perez and Leclerc had a terrific battle for the final two podium places.
Perez’s Red Bull was ultimately too much for the Ferraris, as the Austrian team claimed first and second.
“To get through Charles and then Carlos — I had to use all of my tyres,” Perez said.
“I feel a lot more comfortable in the car so I think we’ll see my best form in the next races.”
Oscar Piastri suffers broken wing after contact with Hamilton
Australian Oscar Piastri’s chance of scoring points in Italy was cruelled by an incident 11 laps from the end when he came together with Lewis Hamilton.
Piastri was in eighth on lap 41 of 51 when a faster Hamilton went up the inside of the young Australian into one of Monza’s famous chicanes.
The contact broke Piastri’s front wing, forcing him into the pits and out of the top 10.
“He just turned across me under braking,” Piastri complained on the radio.
Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision, as the seven-time world champion marched up the road and moved into sixth.
It was not the first incident Piastri had during the race.
The Australian made contact with his teammate Lando Norris on lap 24, when he came out of the pits and into the first corner.
Norris, who had pitted the lap before, flew past Piastri who tried to retake the position.
The pair collided but neither sustained any damage.
Piastri ultimately finished 12th while Norris was able to come home in eighth, snagging four championship points.
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