Max Verstappen made history by clinching his 10th consecutive Formula 1 race victory at the Italian GP on Sunday, during the 14th round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship at Monza. The race began with pole-sitter Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in the lead, but Verstappen steadily closed the gap and overtook Sainz on lap 15 after the latter encountered difficulties at Rettifilo.
While Sainz and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) engaged in fierce competition, Verstappen seized the opportunity and secured the win, marking his 15th career victory for Red Bull. Perez earned the second podium spot after a tough battle with Sainz, who eventually secured third place.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in fifth and sixth positions, respectively. In a close race, Albon’s Mercedes overtook Norris’s McLaren to claim seventh place.
The race featured a strong start by pole-winner Sainz, leading from turn 1 as Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri encountered issues on the warm-up lap. Sergio Perez held fifth place, followed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Williams’ Alex Albon. Albon overtook Piastri for sixth place on lap two.
Lewis Hamilton, driving for Mercedes on hard tires, landed in ninth place behind Norris. Verstappen made his move for the lead on lap 6, hounding Sainz around the outside of the Rettifilo Chicane.
By lap 15, Sainz had a locked-up inside wheel at Rettifilo, allowing Verstappen to capitalize on the opportunity as Sainz experienced poor exit due to wheelspin. Both Sainz and Russell pitted on lap 20, swapping their medium tires for hards.
As Sainz, Leclerc, and Perez continued their battle with 20 laps remaining, Verstappen extended his lead to over 6 seconds. With only 10 laps left, Perez pursued Sainz but had to use the Rettifilo escape road after two laps and again on lap 45.
Both Ferrari drivers fiercely competed with each other, with Leclerc nearly colliding with the back of Sainz at Rettifilo. In the end, Verstappen secured the victory with a 6-second lead over Perez. Both Ferraris finished within a tenth of a second of each other, and Russell claimed fifth place.
In the driver’s standings, Verstappen leads by 145 points, while Red Bull leads the constructors by 310 points as the 2023 F1 season progresses into its final ‘flyaway’ sequence.
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