A Perfect 10 for Max Verstappen at Monza

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates his record tenth consecutive race win in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 03, 2023 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

MONZA, Italy – After a miracle day from Scuderia Ferrari in front of the hometown fans, giving the Tifosi something to cheer about and hope for the Italian Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz nipping the pole position on Saturday.  The man chasing history, with a 10th consecutive victory, stole the show as Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set a new record with successive wins, dating back to the Miami Grand Prix.

As the tire warmers were removed from the cars on the grid before the formation lap, the tire strategy of the day became more evident. The limits in tire allocations had moved into the past for the weekend, it seemed like a one-stop strategy would be the game plan for the pit wall. Most of the field had elected to start on the Medium compound tires. At the same time, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen all opted to start on the Hard compound tires.

The cars were finally released and the excitement was building before the lights were to go out and the Italian Grand Prix could begin. However, before that could happen, the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda stopped on the formation lap and pulled off to the side of the track in the grass on the back straight. Due to where he stopped, the start of the race was abandoned two times as they attempted to move the stricken car out of the way. With the delay, the expected 53-lap race turned into a 51-lap event due to the formation laps burned.

After Tsunoda’s car was finally pulled safely away, the Italian Grand Prix was finally allowed to begin. Pole sitter Sainz could pull away in his Ferrari safely ahead of Verstappen in his Red Bull and set off with the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc working on holding off the Mercedes of George Russell.

Initially, a relatively calm start to the Italian Grand Prix meant little to no contact and retirements, and the field sorted themselves out up and down the order. The slippery Williams of Alex Albon used his pace to get around the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. At the same time, the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso had slipped out of the Top 10 following him being passed by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.

With the Drag Reduction System opened up to teams, Verstappen set his sights on taking the race’s lead as he chased down Sainz. He made his first move on Lap 6 at the first chicane, but excellent defending from Sainz kept him at bay.

Behind the leaders, the Mercedes of Russell and Red Bull of Sergio Perez were fighting for fourth place. Heading into the first chicane saw many comments from both drivers following close racing and being sent into the escape roads. Still, it wasn’t long before Perez got the line right and set his sights on a podium place.

LAP 15/51

Sainz's defense finally cracks as he locks up a Turn 1 😱

Verstappen and Sainz run millimetres apart through Curva Grande, and Verstappen takes the lead!#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/X9YZAYoKHM

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2023

Verstappen stuck back for a bit after his first attempt before Lap 15 when he was able to finally take advantage of Sainz, starting to lose grip in his tires, got the run on him, and took him side-by-side in the Curva Grande and the lead in the second chicane. Behind them, the other Ferrari of Leclerc noticed that his teammate was starting to struggle a bit more with his tires.

The first to blink to go into the pits was Williams calling in Albon from sixth, which started what should be the lone pit cycle of the day. Soon, Ferrari called in Sainz to change the suffering Medium tires onto the Hard tires while Albon was cruising along with the undercut. Afterward, in response, the rest of the front runners filtered into the pits.

Red Bull and Ferrari called in Verstappen and Leclerc, respectively. Verstappen was able to get back out onto clean air while Leclerc returned to the track right behind his teammate. Red Bull soon called in Perez, while McLaren brought in their cars shortly afterward, with Hamilton staying out for a couple of extra laps since he started on the Hard compound tires.

During the pit cycle, Russell was noted for possibly leaving the track, gaining an advantage, and perhaps pushing the Alpine of Esteban Ocon off track. He was soon handed a 5-second penalty.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 03, 2023 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Soon, the lone pit cycle of the Italian Grand Prix was complete, with Verstappen holding onto a comfortable lead with the battle for second contained by the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc, along with Perez in his Red Bull behind them. Russell was holding firm in fifth with no challenges. At the same time, Albon had started to work on defending off the charging McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri, with Hamilton starting his charge up the order behind them.

With things settled out, Perez started working on Leclerc for the last spot on the podium, using the powerful DRS into the first chicane and setting his sights on Sainz in second place to make it a Red Bull 1-2. Behind them, Albon was in the thick of battle as a three-car battle for sixth had turned into a four-car struggle with Hamilton arriving on the scene and the McLarens trying their best to get past the now-struggling Williams.

LAP 41/51

Hamilton hunts down Piastri for eighth but they make contact!

Hamilton continues in P8, but Piastri pits with damage#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8184j4Z5BJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2023

The most significant mid-race drama with contact for the Italian Grand Prix came as Hamilton finally got a run on the trailing McLaren of Piastri. After going side-by-side out of the Curva Grande, they made contact before heading into the second chicane. The damage caused front wing damage for Piastri, ruining his chances at a good points finish, while Hamilton received a 5-second penalty for the contact.

Meanwhile, Perez was trying to get past Sainz for second place. With older tires, Sainz tried his best to defend the charging Red Bull on the fresher tires, making questionable, defensible moves into the first chicane. However, after some time, Perez finally got by the Ferrari and solidified a Red Bull 1-2.

LAP 49/51

Leclerc is champing at the bit to get past Sainz, but he just can't find a way!#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ztftWYJP1H

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2023

While Perez set behind his Teammate Verstappen, the Ferrari battled each other for the final spot on the podium, with some close moments between the two on their home soil. Meanwhile, behind them, the contact hadn’t slowed down Hamilton. He was able to make quick work on Norris and Albon and worked on creating a gap to all but nullify his 5-second penalty.

Verstappen brought it around the track for a final time and picked up his record-setting 10th victory in a row, surpassing the nine wins in a row set by Sebastian Vettel back in 2013 for Red Bull Racing. Sergio Perez bringing it home second also solidified the team’s sixth 1-2 finish of the season and their 15th victory in a row, dating back to Abu Dhabi in 2022.

Although there was a last-lap attempt from his teammate, Carlos Sainz could hold off Charles Leclerc for third place, closing out the podium and giving Ferrari and the Tifosi something to cheer about at the end of the day. Behind them came George Russell, who had a quiet day, with Hamilton able to get enough of a gap not to worry about the 5-second time penalty.

Alex Albon was able to hold off the McLaren of Lando Norris in an impressive day, with Fernando Alonso surviving for just a ninth-place finish in a weekend to improve for Aston Martin. Valtteri Bottas turned his weekend around for Alfa Romeo and closed out the points-paying positions in the Top 10.

Liam Lawson for AlphaTauri, standing in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo, completed his first full weekend of Formula 1 just outside of the points following a close battle in the closing laps against the McLaren of Oscar Piatri was trying to fight his way forward to get back to at least 12th place. The other Williams of Logan Sargeant brought it home on a quiet day in 13th, continuing his search for his first F1 points.

Zhou Guanyu for Alfa Romeo, Pierre Gasly for Alpine, and Lance Stroll for Aston Martin closed out the lead lap runners, with Haas’ of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finishing a lap down. Esteban Ocon had to retire his Alpine, joining the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda as the two drivers not to make it to the checkered flag.

With Verstappen picking up his 10th win in a row, Ferrari jumped Aston Martin in the Constructors Championship with their third and fourth-place finish, making it an exciting battle for second place in the Constructors Championship.

Formula 1 now takes a small break as teams make their way to the streets of Marina Bay for the Singapore Grand Prix. It will be soon time to see if Verstappen and Red Bull can continue their dominance and create new records or if a team like Ferrari can take the fight to them and break the string of undefeated races that Red Bull has had in 2023.