© Getty ImagesMax, F1’s fastest man wins F1’s fastest ever race This is a race report like no other.
AftermakinghistorywithF1’sfastesteverlaponSaturday,MaxdoubledupinMonzabyspeedingtoastunningvictoryattheendofthesport’sfastesteverraceaheadofMcLarenduoLandoNorrisandOscarPiastri.TheDutchman’s66thcareerwinwasachievedinablistering1hr13m24s,morethanaminuteaheadofMichaelSchumacher’s2003winatthesamevenue.Yuki,meanwhile,missedoutonthepoints,finishingtheraceinP13.ThewinalsomarkedtheTeam’s50thracewinwithOracleasTitlePartner.
We were flying. The car was really enjoyable...
Max Verstappen“We were flying. The car was really enjoyable,” he said after taking his third win of the season. “Just a fantastic execution by everyone, by the whole Team. I think the whole weekend we were on it. And yeah, it’s super enjoyable to win here.”
When the lights went out at the start, Max made a good getaway from Pole to take the lead ahead of Lando. The McLaren driver tried to make a move on the inside but Max came across.
The pair then went into the first chicane side by side and with no room to manoeuvre and Max was forced to cut the chicane. Behind the leading pair, Oscar and Charles Leclerc tussled for position with the Ferrari driver briefly getting ahead.
On The Charge In Monza© Getty Images
At the start of the second lap, Max opted to avoid any potential investigation of the start and handed the lead to Lando. As the McLaren driver swept past on the run to Turn 1, Charles again made a move on Oscar and this time the Ferrari driver’s move was more decisive and he stole P3 ahead of the Australian.
Further back, Yuki had also made a good start and with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli getting away slowly, the Japanese driver was able to take a place and climbed up to P9.
At the front, with DRS enabled, Max closed right up to Lando and at the start of lap 4 he opened his wing and roared past to reclaim the lead. Oscar, too, used drag reduction to good effect, muscling his way past Charles to take P3.
Having restored his lead, Max began to build a gap to Lando and by lap 10 the Dutchman was three seconds clear of the lead McLaren who was more than four seconds behind his team-mate. Charles was clinging on to fourth place but coming under increasing pressure from Mercedes’ George Russell. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton had climbed from 10th to sixth ahead of Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Yuki was holding on to P9 despite pressure from Kimi.
The Crowd Cheers Max On© Getty Images
On lap 18, the pressure told and as Yuki went into Turn 1, he was ambushed by Kimi who snuck through to demote the Japanese driver to P10.
Ollie Bearman pitted from P11 to try to undercut Yuki and the Team reacted immediately, bringing in the Japanese driver on the next lap. After a 2.3s switch to Hard tyres, Yuki emerged marginally ahead of Ollie, but with the Haas driver’s tyres up to temperature, Ollie was able to power past into the next chicane and Yuki lost a position.
At the front, on lap 22, Max was firmly in control. The Dutchman was now just shy six seconds ahead of Lando and GP was on the radio lauding his driver’s “solid job”.
Soon after half distance the leading drivers began to make their pit stops. Both Mercedes headed in for Hard tyres and began to set good times on the C3.
Max continued on his starting Medium tyres but the race leader was beginning to suffer with blistering on his front right tyre and Lando began to edge marginally closer.
Charles made his stop from P4 on lap 34 and after fitting Hard tyres he emerged in P6, behind Williams’ Alex Albon who had yet to make his stop. The Ferrari driver soon posted the fastest lap of the race.
Max broke the deadlock with McLaren on lap 38, diving into the pit lane for a 2.3s halt to make the switch to Hard tyres. He emerged in P3, 19 seconds behind Lando and 13 seconds behind Oscar. Max immediately began posting fastest laps and with the McLaren drivers’ tyres fading, the Dutchman began to chew through the gap to the papaya cars and by lap 44 he was just 11.9s behind Lando.
Oscar made his pit stop on lap 46 for soft tyres and Lando mirrored the switch. The Briton’s stop was a slow one, however, due to a problem with the front left gun and he emerged behind Oscar. The McLaren pit wall asked the Australian to hand the position back to Lando and despite saying he didn’t understand the move, he ceded P2 back to his team-mate with five laps left.
Out front, there were no such dramas. With pace in abundance and a 19 second gap back to the McLaren pair in hand, Max sailed past the flag to take a stunning third win of the season and to make history with the sport’s fastest ever race.
The Take-home Package© Getty Images
The Champion Wins Monza Once Again© Getty Images
Now That's A Good Feeling© Getty Images
“That’s the Italian double,” laughed GP on the radio.
What an unbelievable weekend. We can be proud of that. Well done everyone.Max Verstappen “That was unbelievable guys,” said the champion. “What an unbelievable weekend. We can be proud of that. Well done everyone.”
Team Principal Laurent Mekies also lauded the Dutchman’s commanding victory, telling Max: “A masterclass! 20 seconds on McLaren. You had everything. Race pace, control – everything!”
Behind the top three, Charles took P4 ahead of George with Lewis finishing sixth to make it a strong home race for Ferrari. Alex finished seventh for Williams ahead of Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, while Kimi was hit with a late-race 5 second penalty for driving erratically and slid to ninth. The final point went to pit lane starter Isack Hadjar who finished ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Haas’ Ollie and Yuki, who crossed the line in 13th place.
