The Italian Grand Prix Review
Max Verstappen claimed a record-breaking 10th consecutive victory at the Italian Grand Prix after a battle with Carlos Sainz.
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It was the Ferrari of Sainz that claimed pole on Saturday afternoon, and it was Sainz that was quickest off the line with Verstappen being forced to slot into second place.
Although Sainz was quickest off the line he struggled to shake the Red Bull of Verstappen and was struggling with rear tyre degradation which was expected for the Ferraris.
Verstappen tried a move on Sainz on lap 6 but a strong defence from Sainz meant the world champion was unable to pass him. It wasn’t until lap 15 when Sainz was forced into a mistake and Verstappen was able to sweep past the Spaniard.
Once Verstappen was in the lead it wasn’t long until he was into the distance. He crossed the finish line with a 6-second lead to take his record-breaking victory.
From this point on it was a fight for the remaining podium places between Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. It was Sergio Perez who took the runner-up position which gave Red Bull their 6th 1-2 finish of the season.
It was a heart-racing fight between the two Ferraris for the final spot on the podium, but it was the poleman Sainz that came out on top to take 3rd place.
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Behind the dramatics from Ferrari, the two newly resigned Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took a double point finish with 5th and 6th respectively. Both drivers took 5-second time penalties but were able to take home strong finishes.
It was an incident with Esteban Ocon that gave Russell his penalty as the Brit had left the track and gained an advantage. Lewis Hamilton took his penalty for colliding with Oscar Piastri which caused the McLaren wing damage.
Alex Albon had another strong finish in 7th after having to defend the position from the McLaren of Lando Norris all the way to the finish line. It was the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and the Alfa Romeo of Valterri Bottas that rounded out the top 10 finishers and point takers.
Liam Lawson finished just outside the top ten on only his second appearance in the AlphaTauri. The other McLaren of Oscar Piastri finished in 12th after the collision with Hamilton and serving a 5-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Logan Sargeant finished in 13th after serving a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision with Valterri Bottas. Sargeant was followed by the other Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.
After a back-of-the grid start for Lance Stroll he was only able to cross the line in the Aston Martin in 16th place ahead of the two Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, who had another tough race weekend.
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There were two non-finishers with Yuki Tsunoda reporting an engine failure in his AlphaTauri on the formation lap and being unable to make the race start, and Esteban Ocon was the second non-finisher after having to retire his Alpine.
Formula 1 action continues in just under two weeks in Marina Bay for the Singapore Grand Prix.
