Max Verstappen wrote his identify in Formula One’s historical past books on Sunday after profitable a record-breaking tenth straight race, popping out on high at the Italian Grand Prix in one other present of power from Red Bull.
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The reigning world champion dominated on a lovely day in northern Italy which left Ferrari followers dissatisfied, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez ending second forward of dwelling hope and pole-sitter Carlos Sainz.
Red Bull hailed a “stroll in the park” after a sensible one-two which prolonged Verstappen’s lead on Perez at the highest of the drivers’ standings to 145 factors and likewise maintained a perfect group document of 14 wins from as many GPs this season.
“I never thought at the beginning of the season that something like this was possible. Very proud, but also just very happy with the race in general,” Verstappen instructed reporters.
“At one point Carlos had a little lock up which gave me a little run at turn two, and once I got into the lead I could just focus on my own pace.”
Spaniard Sainz crossed greater than 11 seconds behind Verstappen regardless of a valiant efficiency in an thrilling race.
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The crimson sea of dwelling followers loudly chanted “Carlos, Carlos” in appreciation of Sainz’s first podium end of the yr, simply forward of fellow Ferrari man Charles Leclerc who was the final Scuderia driver to win at Monza in 2019.
“Very happy because P3 at Monza in front of the ‘tifosi’ is as good as it can get, at least for this weekend because Red Bull were in the end quite a bit quicker than us as we expected,” stated Sainz.
“It was a day to try and I did everything I could to keep them behind.”
Verstappen has now gained 12 of this season’s races and is all however sure to assert his third consecutive F1 title after breaking a document he shared with Sebastian Vettel by profitable in Zandvoort final weekend.
Record breaker
He wants 4 extra wins from the season’s remaining eight GPs to interrupt his personal document for victories in a single yr and is 90 factors away from the all-time highest tally of 454 he gathered in 2022.
The Dutch driver made it 10 in a row in a race which was delayed by 20 minutes and reduce to 51 laps after Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri automobile suffered a power-unit failure throughout the pre-race formation lap.
Sainz knew he needed to preserve Verstappen at bay within the opening two corners simply after lights out and he drew a large cheer from the stands as soon as he was around the third Biassono flip and nonetheless forward.
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Verstappen was virtually hooked up to Sainz’s rear with Leclerc pursuing shut behind in help of his teammate.
But Sainz’s resistance ended at the beginning of lap 15 when Verstappen pounced on a gradual exit from the primary nook and surged into the lead.
Verstappen was again in entrance 10 laps later after a spherical of pit stops, blowing previous former title rival Lewis Hamilton and displaying the remainder of the sector a clear pair of heels.
With first place all-but sewn up Ferrari battled to maintain the 2 different podium spots however Perez slipped previous Sainz at the beginning of lap 45 to exhibit Red Bull’s dominance.
All that was left was for Ferrari’s pair to do battle for a spot on the rostrum, with Sainz simply holding on after one other race through which no-one may deal with Red Bull’s energy.
Red Bull’s closest challenger Fernando Alonso fell 194 factors behind Verstappen after ending ninth, with Lewis Hamilton looming over his fellow veteran’s shoulder within the total standings following a creditable sixth spot.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, 38, trails Alonso by six factors regardless of a tough weekend in his Mercedes, with whom he confirmed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
Last season Hamilton did not win or declare pole place at any GP for the primary time in his profession and he appears a good distance from including to his document 103 race victories.
(*10*)Result of the Italian Grand Prix, the 14th race of the Formula One season, at Monza on Sunday:
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) one hour, 13min 41.143sec, 2. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) at 6.064, 3. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) 11.193, 4. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 11.377, 5. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 23.028, 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 42.679, 7. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 45.106, 8. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 45.449, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 46.294, 10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:04.056, 11. Liam Lawson (NZL/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:10.638, 12. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:13.074, 13. Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:18.557, 14. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:20.164, 15. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:22.510, 16. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:27.266, 17. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari) one lap, 18. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) one lap
Retirements
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault)
Fastest lap: Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:25.072
World championship standings
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (NED) 364 pts, 2. Sergio Pérez (MEX) 219, 3. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 170, 4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 164, 5. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 117, 6. Charles Leclerc (MON) 111, 7. George Russell (GBR) 109, 8. Lando Norris (GBR) 79, 9. Lance Stroll (CAN) 47, 10. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 37, 11. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 36, 12. Oscar Piastri (AUS) 36, 13. Alexander Albon (THA) 21, 14. Nico Hülkenberg (GER) 9, 15. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 6, 16. Zhou Guanyu (CHN) 4, 17. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 3, 18. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 2, 19. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0, 20. Nyck de Vries (NED) 0, 21. Liam Lawson (NZL) 0, 22. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 0
Constructors
1. Red Bull 583 pts, 2. Mercedes 273, 3. Ferrari 228, 4. Aston Martin-Mercedes 217, 5. McLaren-Mercedes 115, 6. Alpine-Renault 73, 7. Williams-Mercedes 21, 8. Haas-Ferrari 11, 9. Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 10, 10. AlphaTauri-Red Bull 3
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
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