Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen was made to work for his record-breaking 10th consecutive victory on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix.
Having been beaten to pole position by Carlos Sainz at Monza on Saturday, Verstappen knew that victory wouldn’t be as simple as it has been in recent races, something which was proven to be absolutely correct.
The Dutchman started the race well and settled in behind Sainz in P2, whilst never falling beyond a second behind.
Verstappen remained right on Sainz’s gearbox throughout the opening stages of the race, before attempting a move on the sixth lap.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
He was unsuccessful on this occasion at the opening corner, after Sainz shut the door on the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen was often too far behind on the exit of Parabolica to make full use of his DRS, mostly due to Ferrari’s strong top speed.
The two-time World Champion complained about this on Lap 10.
“They have a lot of top speed for f*** sake,” Verstappen complained over the team radio.
Verstappen eventually found his way past Sainz on Lap 15, after the 29-year-old ran deep into the opening corner.
This resulted in a poor exit from the chicane for Sainz, allowing Verstappen to sweep around the outside at Curva Grande to claim the lead of the race.
He went on to win by just over six seconds from Sergio Perez, who also managed to overtake Sainz later in the race.
Sainz ended up finishing third ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth, in what can be regarded as a very positive result for Ferrari, who were ultimately let down by their poor tyre wear.
Verstappen’s win marked his second in a row at the ‘Temple of Speed’, breaking the Monza ‘curse’.
READ: ‘Strange’ Lewis Hamilton addresses George Russell performance
The 2019, 2020 and 2021 winners of the race had all retired the following year, something many feared would happen for Verstappen.
There were no concerns at all though, that the Dutchman was going to be defeated by a ‘curse’, as he broke Sebastian Vettel’s record for nine consecutive wins.
Verstappen’s 10 wins in a row is something which will be incredibly difficult to beat; however, he has every chance to continue his mesmeric run of form.