Formula One returns to the famed Cathedral of Speed at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, and there is one question on everyone’s mind: can Max Verstappen win 10 in a row? Join The Roar for live blog coverage and lap-by-lap update from 10:50pm (AEST).
The reigning world champion again starred at his home Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, where his sensational win in changeable conditions saw him equal Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 record of most consecutive wins in a single season.
Now the Dutchman is on the cusp of claiming the record outright, if he can go back-to-back at Monza and not befall the curse that has plagued winners of the recent past, in the year following their win.
Since Charles Leclerc’s famous win for Ferrari in front of the adoring Tifosi in 2019, then crashing out at Parabolica the following year – has the winner of the Italian Grand Prix gone on to not finish the next time.
All that aside, Red Bull still have the optimal package and are still a cut above in terms of their race pace as demonstrated in practice. The 5.7km power circuit leans heavily towards top speed and little downforce, which Red Bull have plenty to spare.
But across the 53-laps can there be a surprise? Or will the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin and even the Williams of Alex Albon be only realistically duking it out between themselves for second best to Verstappen.
Ferrari stunned in qualifying, as Carlos Sainz claimed a special pole position in front of packed grandstands. He edged out Verstappen by 0.013-seconds, while teammate Leclerc was only 0.067-second behind.
Monza typically hasn’t been a track hard on the Pirelli tyres in recent years. Even with the softest allocation in their range, will a one-stop race be the quickest strategy. Though it would be remiss to rule out a Safety Car – which has featured the last two years, including the controversial run to the checquered flag under the Safety Car last year.
A Verstappen win just seems inevitable and it would be wrong not want to ride the train as he and Red Bull rewrite Formula One and that starts with what could be a tenth consecutive win and breaking the Monza curse. But with a Ferrari on pole, the hopes of a nation will lie with Sainz.
Lights out: 11pm (AEST)
Venue: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports
Grid
1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 4. George Russell (Mercedes), 5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 6. Alexander Albon (Williams), 7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 9. Lando Norris (McLaren), 10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 11. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 12. Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri), 13. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), 14. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), 15. Logan Sargeant (Williams), 16. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), 17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 18. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Only can score a point for fastest lap if you finish in the top ten.
andrew
Roar Rookie
10 straight wins for Max, that's going to take some beating. Piastri must be impressing McLaren especially after setting the fastest lap. Does Oscar receive a point for that Jawad?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well that was an eventful race. Great racing all round and how about Red Bull as well, still undefeated this season? Thanks as always for joining me for this live blog of the Italian Grand Prix on The Roar. A weekend off and then it is time for the flyaway races with Singapore and then Japan (which finally doesn't clash with the Bathurst 1000!) up next. Until then, bye for now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 364 - Max Verstappen 219 - Sergio Perez 170 - Fernando Alonso 164 - Lewis Hamilton 117 - Carlos Sainz 111 - Charles Leclerc 109 - George Russell 79 -- Lando Norris 47 -- Lance Stroll 37 -- Pierre Gasly 36 -- Oscar Piastri 36 -- Esteban Ocon 21 -- Alexander Albon 9 --- Nico Hülkenberg 6 --- Valtteri Bottas 4 --- Zhou Guanyu 3 --- Yuki Tsunoda 2 --- Kevin Magnussen 0 --- Logan Sargeant 0 --- Nyck De Vries 0 --- Liam Lawson 0 --- Daniel Ricciardo
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 583 - Red Bull Racing 273 - Mercedes AMG 228 - Aston Martin Racing 217 - Ferrari 115 - McLaren Mercedes 73 -- Alpine 21 -- Williams Mercedes 11 -- Haas Ferrari 10 -- Alfa Romeo Racing 3 --- Scuderia AlphaTauri
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT The record for consecutive wins in a single season for a driver was indeed broken at the Italian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen claimed his tenth straight win in exciting Monza race. Red Bull nailed a one-two finish as well, as Sergio Perez from fifth was able to beat the Ferraris, while polesitter Carlos Sainz fought tooth and nail to score his first podium of the season and special one at Monza for Ferrari. The race lost a lap, with an aborted start due to Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri grinding to a halt on the formation lap. It took an unusual amount of time for the Japanese driver’s car to be recovered, with the race starting proper at 15:20 local time. Sainz led away from Verstappen, with Ferrari teammate and 2019 Monza winner Charles Leclerc in third and keeping the pressure on the Red Bull. The polesitter was able to defend his line going into the first chicane, with the Ferrari having enough straight-line speed to counter the Red Bull’s DRS. It wasn’t until Lap 15 when Verstappen finally cracked Sainz, as the Ferrari locked up going into the first corner – allowing the Red Bull to get the run up Curva Grande. Then the pass was made into Turn 5 and away went Verstappen. Pit-stops were also triggered, with Sainz in on Lap 20 and then Verstappen and Leclerc in on the following lap. Perez, who was now in contention for a top three finish, pitted for hard tyres on Lap 22. It wasn’t until Lap 46 when Perez passed Sainz for second, with the Spaniard’s tyres well used. This invited Leclerc into contention to relegate his teammate off the podium, however the polesitter was able to hold on. Despite both Mercedes cars finishing as best of the rest, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton earnt respective 5-second penalties for contact. Russell had tagged Esteban Ocon – who ended up retiring, while Hamilton turned in on Oscar Piastri going into Turn 5, as the seven-time world champ looked to utilise his medium tyres to climb towards the top six. Piastri himself ended up with a 5-second penalty too, after pitting for a new front-wing and dropping out of the points. In battling fellow Antipodean Liam Lawson, the Aussie got past by cutting the corner – hence the penalty dropping him behind the AlphaTauri. The Williams of Alex Albon also starred with robust defence, holding off a frustrated Lando Norris for seventh. Albon went 15-laps from the start on the medium compound, before putting a 35-lap stint on the hard tyre. Whilst he did suffer a lack of performance, he still kept Norris and Fernando Alonso behind. Benefitting from Piastri dropping out of the points, was Valtteri Bottas who drove an anonymous race in the Alfa Romeo to secure a point and the Finn’s first point since the Canadian Grand Prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thoughts on that one then Roarers?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 51-LAP ITALIAN GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen 2 S. Perez 3 C. Sainz 4 C. Leclerc 5 G. Russell* 6 L. Hamilton* 7 A. Albon 8 L. Norris 9 F. Alonso 10 V. Bottas 11 L. Lawson 12 O. Piastri* (Fastest Lap) 13 L. Sargeant* 14 G. Zhou 15 L. Stroll 16 P. Gasly 17 N. Hülkenberg 18 K. Magnussen RET E. Ocon DNS Y. Tsunoda *5-second time penalties applied to Russell, Hamilton, Piastri and Sargeant*
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Nico Rosberg VERSTAPPEN - "I never would've believed that was possible." "They [Ferrari] had a lot of top speed." "I just tried to stay patient and had to pick my moment." PEREZ - "I think it was the maximum we could achieve today, we were lacking straight line speed." "To get to the Ferraris, I had to use up my tyres." SAINZ - "Very tough, it cannot be any tougher as it was today." "I did everything I could to defend." "It was tough, hard racing. It has always been a pleasure to race Charles."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX! History is made and a new record set, as Max wins 10 in a row. A one-two finish as well for Red Bull, with Sergio Perez coming home second. And with a driver-of-the-day performance from pole, Carlos Sainz scores third for Ferrari.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 51/51: FINAL LAP A lock up from Leclerc has Tifosi with hearts in their mouths, as Sainz still stays clear of his teammate.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 50/51: 5-second penalty for Sargeant for causing a collision. Hamilton meanwhile has the 5 seconds he needs ahead of Albon.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 49/51: Norris finally through on Albon, but the Williams comes back at the McLaren! Sainz pleading with his team on the radio to 'bring this home'. The Antipodeans getting together on track, as Piastri has to jump across the chicane to get ahead of Lawson. He will have to give that back.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 48/51: Hamilton still only 3 seconds ahead of Norris in eighth and doesn't even have 5-seconds over Alonso - so he'll drop to ninth with the penalty. Russell is safe though with his 21-second gap in fifth. Sainz still ahead of Leclerc.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 47/51: Leclerc does pass Sainz into the first chicane, but Sainz comes back going into Curva Grande and then into Turn 5 gets back ahead of Leclerc - despite a minor touch. Hamilton as well is through on Albon, while having that 5-second penalty still to serve. Crucial for Norris to pass Albon, so he stays within 5 seconds of the Mercedes.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 46/51: And he has done it at last! Perez passes Sainz for second as the Red Bulls are now one and two. Checo should check out now, while Leclerc has his teammate Sainz all the over the rear of his Ferrari.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 45/51: Hamilton gets a move on then and passes Norris, and will get on with chasing Albon - who has been staunch in defending against Norris. Perez unhappy behind Sainz, as the Red Bull still can't find a way past the Ferrari.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 44/51: Perez's engineer telling him that they'll be reporting Sainz for moving around in the braking zones. Hamilton penalised 5-seconds for causing a collision then and this'll be music to the ears of Alonso behind him in ninth.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 43/51: The battle for the podium still ongoing between Sainz, Perez and Leclerc as they're all questioning each others defensive tactics.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/51: Piastri has had to pit for a change of front-wing and looks like that Hamilton went over to the right and squeezed the McLaren. Big, big shame for the Aussie who was on course for some solid points.