The World Championship leader, who only started from seventh place, clinched his eleventh win of the season yesterday under the yellow flag. The sentimental favorite Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position, could not do more than second place in the Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix. Without the big emotional spectacle in Tifosi-Land, Formula 1 said goodbye to Europe for this year.
After Verstappen’s comfortable lead was erased by the safety car with six laps to go, there was no heart-stopping finale. Daniel Ricciardo’s stopped McLaren could not be recovered in time. Accompanied by whistles from well over 100,000 disappointed fans, the superior world championship leader crossed the finish line to his 31st career victory. That meant the first Monza podium for Red Bull since 2013.
First match point in Singapore
“We had a great race. We were the fastest on every compound,” said Verstappen. Already at the next, the 17th of 22 races of the season in Singapore (October 2nd), he could mathematically fix the title defense. “King Max” is currently 116 points ahead of Leclerc.
George Russell got a place on the podium as third in the Mercedes. In the other places: Carlos Sainz (4th / Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (5th / Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (6th / Red Bull). Nyck de Vries, who had stepped in at short notice for Alexander Albon (appendix) in the Williams, celebrated a sensational ninth place.
Leclerc naturally mourned the restart in the finish. “The end was frustrating. I wish we had raced again,” said the Monegasque, who ultimately clearly missed his second Monza victory after 2019. “It would have been a great finish, maybe closer for us, but you should put the sport in the foreground,” complained Red Bull’s motorsport boss Helmut Marko.
“It was comfortable to drive”
After a total of nine engine penalties, a spectacular race was announced. After the two surprise victories by Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren/2021) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri/2020), the hope remained that reality looked different. Verstappen is simply unstoppable this season. “I got into my rhythm right away. It was comfortable to drive, it’s a great day for us,” said the champion, who was completely satisfied. He knows he has everything under control.
Source: Nachrichten
