Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc tried their best to stop Red Bull on Ferrari’s home track today, but Max Verstappen still rewrote the history books in Monza.
The checkered flag was waved for the tenth time in a row for the defending world champion; a new F1 record.
Sainz started first in his red Ferrari fire car and the Spaniard did a good job. For more than ten rounds he won the cat-and-mouse game with Verstappen, but the Dutchman is no domestic cat: He is a cheetah who knows how to win races and he took the lead in the 15th round.
After that, ingenious management and a good pit strategy ensured that he raced away with the laurels again.
Sergio Perez was next to cross the finish line in his Red Bull.
Leclerc and Sainz’s duel also caused excitement with Leclerc nearly running into his teammate in the darts.
Still, Sainz held on to reap a well-deserved podium place – it was certainly one of his best performances behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
But back to Verstappen, in addition to his victory record he now enjoys a lead of more than 140 points in the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull is also hands down in the manufacturers’ standings.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that ten consecutive victories were possible. Carlos gave a brilliant performance today and I had to wait patiently until he made a mistake. Granted, it was certainly not a smooth performance, but we made it,” said Verstappen.
Results:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Driver scoring:
- Max Verstappen: 364 points
- Sergio Perez: 219 points
- Fernando Alonso: 170 points
- Lewis Hamilton: 164 points
- Carlos Sainz: 117 points
- Charles Leclerc: 111 points
- George Russell: 109 points
- Lando Norris: 79 points
- Lance Stroll: 47 points
- Pierre Gasly: 37 points
Manufacturer Punctuation:
- Red Bull: 540 points
- Mercedes: 255 points
- Aston Martin: 215 points
- Ferrari: 201 points
- McLaren: 111 points.
