Formula 1

RED BULL TAKING IT ALL! DOMINATING MAX BREAKING MORE RECORDS! PEREZ, SAINZ, AND LECLERC GIVING US A FANTASTIC BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM, GIVING THE TIFOSI REASON FOR CELEBRATIONS!

Verstappen set a new Formula One record as he surpassed the mark set by Sebastian Vettel and won a 10th consecutive race thanks to another impeccable drive, this time at the Italian Grand Prix.

The two-time world champion started the race from second on the grid but was able to get past the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jnr on lap 15 and was rarely troubled as he cruised to his 12th win of the season.

The victory ensured that Oracle Red Bull Racing have won every race this season and extended Verstappen’s lead to 145 points in the drivers’ championship from teammate Sergio Pérez, who was able to finish in second.

On setting a new record, Verstappen said: “I never would of believed that was possible but we had to work for it today and that made it definitely a lot more fun.”

Verstappen has won 12 of the 14 races for unbeaten Red Bull and matched Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight victories last weekend at the Dutch GP. He is closing in on his own F1 record of 15 wins set last year and onto 47 overall.

Pérez has the other two victories this season and Red Bull has also won 24 of the past 25 races, including last year.

There are eight more races remaining for Red Bull to try to complete the first perfect year by a F1 team.

“I’m very proud also of the whole team effort, the whole year already,” Verstappen said. “What we are doing at the moment, winning every race this year, it’s something that we definitely are enjoying because I don’t think these kind of seasons come around very often.

“That’s the same of course with winning 10 in a row.

It was a second straight victory for Verstappen at Monza. Before last year he had never finished the Italian GP higher than fifth.

His record bid got off to a slightly delayed start, however, as Yuki Tsunoda went off on the formation lap with a suspected power unit failure. There had to be an aborted start and, with the drivers effectively doing three formation laps, the race was shortened by two laps.

Ferrari was hopeful of its first win at the Temple of Speed since 2019 and Sainz, who turned 29 on Friday, got off to a great start as he held off Verstappen into the first corner — much to the delight of the thousands of passionate red-clad tifosi.

Sainz managed to defend several attempts by Verstappen to get past in a tense fight between the two. That didn’t last long, however, as Sainz locked his brakes going into the first chicane on lap 15 and that allowed Verstappen to get past him on the exit and pull away.

Sainz was left to fend off Perez for second place but lost that battle too with four laps remaining and was then forced to fight hard again to keep Leclerc behind for the final podium place.

LET’S HEAR FROM MAX AND CHECO…

MAX: “I had to be patient today to get the win, Ferrari had a lot of top speed all weekend and I think when you look at our rear wing we had to trim down our top flap, so our DRS the whole weekend wasn’t as effective as normal. That meant we could never have a good run down into turn one, so I had to be patient and force Carlos into a mistake. At one point, when his tyres were wearing a little, we tried to make him brake late, he locked up a little bit and I thought, “perfect” and was able to pass him on the exit to turn two.

From there it was about managing things and bringing the car home safely. 10 wins in a row is a record I am very happy about; it is something you don’t even think about trying to achieve because it is very unlikely that those kinds of things happen. I am very proud it has happened and proud of what the Team has done again today, the whole year has been pretty incredible so far. And, of course, a one-two today as well, here in Monza, is special for us all.”

CHECO: “It is really satisfying to achieve P2 today and it has been a brilliant day for the team. Overtaking was really difficult on this track and the Ferraris were very fast on the straights so it was hard to make my way through the field. We had some tough racing, but I fought really hard to overtake and gave it my all and it paid off. We didn’t get to show it yesterday, but it’s been a strong weekend in terms of performance.

I feel like my form is fully back and I hope we can have a very strong end to the season. The team have done a lot of work on the suspension and the set-up of the car and we have made great steps forward here. Finally, the atmosphere here in Italy and on the podium was amazing: the whole main straight was packed and it was a great experience. Max’s achievement today really is incredible so well done to him: today is his moment.”