Not Michael Schumacher, not Sebastian Vettel, not even Lewis Hamilton, have done what Max Verstappen has achieved in 2023.
A near unfathomable 10 consecutive Grand Prix wins! Fan or not of Verstappen, to bear witness to a sublime and unparalleled sporting achievement is a privilege.
The Italian Grand Prix took a few minutes to get going, but once it did, it roared into life and it sustained a level of entertainment and exhilaration second to none. The original start of the race was aborted as Yuki Tsunoda ground to a halt on the back straight during the formation lap. The AlphaTauri needed to be safely clear, which prompted a delay of roughly 20 minutes, but once the lights went out it was game on.
Carlos Sainz, who snatched a superb pole on Saturday, led cleanly from Verstappen and his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc. It seemed Verstappen was merely biding his time, but it wasn’t as straightforward as many would’ve predicted. Sainz defended with all his might but the Ferrari, notoriously hard on its tyres, was beginning to slide at the rear.
The ever-patient Verstappen kept the pressure on and forced the smallest of mistakes from Sainz. The Spaniard locked up slightly into turn one on lap 15, and Verstappen seized the lead of the race.
Meanwhile, Leclerc continued to keep a close watching brief in third, with George Russell coming under pressure from Checo Perez in fifth. What was obvious is that DRS down the start/finish straight was as powerful as many thought it would be.
In fact, all it did was assist the driver to get alongside the car in front, and leave him to do the rest of the work. This is exactly what DRS should always be – an assist to get into a position to make an overtake as opposed to an outright overtake.
Behind Perez, Alex Albon was holding his own after qualifying the Williams in an impressive sixth place. The aerodynamic philosophy of the Williams has, in the last several years, tended towards a car with good top-end speed and it paid off at Monza.
Albon was also the first of the top six to pit, while Perez finally found his way past Russell. While Sainz pitted on lap 20, Verstappen and Leclerc made their stops on lap 21. It momentarily left Perez in the lead of the race, who emerged right on the gearboxes of the two Ferraris after his stop.
Up ahead, Verstappen was slowly but surely building a comfortable lead, but the Dutchman was not disappearing into the distance by any means.
The championship leader was comfortably in the lead of the race. Instead of looking forward, both Sainz and Leclerc had their mirrors full of Perez. Although it took several attempts, Perez eventually dispatched both Ferraris to run second. It was clear that both Sainz and Leclerc gave it absolutely everything to hold off Red Bull.
Although they were armed with some impressive top-end speed their sublime defence wasn’t enough but a third and fourth is a significantly better showing than in Zaandvoort.
Behind Red Bull and Ferrari, George Russell finished a distant fifth. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, but not without a bit of controversy.
On an alternate strategy, Hamilton was making his way well into the points, but a bit of average driving saw him bang wheels with Oscar Piastri.
The McLaren driver was forced to pit for a new front wing and dropped out of the points. Hamilton was given a five-second penalty, which ultimately had no impact on his race. Given that Piastri was forced to pit and lost points, there should be a consideration for how much damage has been done to his race. In this case a five-second penalty is not sufficient.
Behind Hamilton, Albon held on to seventh for dear life in his Williams, ahead of Lando Norris in eighth. Fernando Alonso, anonymous the whole weekend, was ninth for Aston Martin, while Valtteri Bottas scored a point in 10th.
As it stands, Red Bull has now won 15 races in a row. Verstappen’s 10 on the trot draws him one clear of Vettel’s nine in a row, and puts him in position to wrap up his third title in Japan. There is very little to suggest that he’ll not be able to seal title number three with win number 12.
