The Formula 1 Grands Prix follow and look alike, with a victory for Max Verstappen invariably every weekend. But on Sunday September 3, the Dutch driver, a solid leader in the world championship, won at Monza in Italy, 14e round of the season, his tenth Grand Prix in a row, a record.
The reigning double world champion beat his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez and the Ferrari of Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who started from pole position at the Monza autodrome, the Scuderia’s stronghold.
Starting on pole in front of a red tide all committed to the Ferrari cause, Sainz resisted 14 laps (out of 51) against the powerful Red Bull of Verstappen, second on the grid. Relegated to second position, Sainz was then caught by Pérez at the start of the 46e tower, before starting a fratricidal struggle for the 3e place with his teammate Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque finally finished 4ein front of the two Mercedes of George Russell, 5e and Lewis Hamilton, 6e.
Verstappen’s victory – the 12e in 14 races contested this season – allows the Dutchman to erase the record of four-time German world champion Sebastian Vettel (nine consecutive victories in 2013) – a record he equaled last week at home in Zandvoort, during the GP des Pays -Down.
In the drivers’ championship, the Red Bull driver now has a lead of 145 points over his runner-up Pérez, the only other driver to have won in GP this season (in Saudi Arabia then in Azerbaijan).
