Formula 1’s Max Verstappen wins the Italian Grand Prix to move closer to capturing his second straight championship. After winning a race in which the final six circuits were completed with the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo fell off the track, Max Verstappen has 116 points more than Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
Max Verstappen won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, putting him within striking distance of a second consecutive championship in the sport.
Verstappen, who is now leading the championship, overcame Charles Leclerc at the finish line at Monza after starting from eighth on the grid. This was another challenging day for Ferrari.
After winning a race in which the final six laps were completed with the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo went off the circuit, the Red Bull driver has 116 points more than Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
Verstappen remarked, “We had a wonderful race, we were fastest on every compound.
Verstappen can claim the driver’s championship at next month’s Singapore GP with six races remaining.
The Monza crowd yelled and whistled loudly as the vehicles crossed the finish line since they were unable to witness their favourite driver Leclerc attempt to pass powerful Verstappen, who won his fifth consecutive race.
Formula 1’s Max Verstappen
Mercedes’ George Russell completed the podium. Carlos Sainz, a teammate of Leclerc, advanced from position 18 on the starting grid to position 4.
Verstappen was quickly making headway through the pack while Leclerc, who started on pole, managed to hold off an early pass attempt from Russell to maintain first place.
Verstappen advanced four positions after starting the race in ninth place. On the fifth lap, he overtook Russell to focus on Leclerc.
On lap 13, Verstappen overtook Leclerc when the latter pitted to switch from soft to medium tyres after Sebastian Vettel’s incident had activated a virtual safety car.
Unlike at the Dutch GP last week, Leclerc returned to the track without any significant incidents, but Ferrari’s decision to pit early would ultimately cost them the race.
On lap 26, Verstappen made a pit stop to switch from his soft tyres to medium ones. Verstappen reentered the race just behind Leclerc with the same compound that his Ferrari adversary had already completed 13 laps in.
When Leclerc pitted again to switch back to soft tyres seven laps later, he gave the victory to Verstappen, whose tyre wear had been the deciding factor.
Verstappen remarked, “It was pretty excellent on the tyres, and it was incredibly fun to drive today. A wonderful day for us. It took some time, but we eventually succeeded.
With six laps remaining, Daniel Ricciardo’s race came to an end with his car stopped beside the track, allowing everyone to pit knowing that a safety car would soon appear.
They were unaware that the car would stay on the track until the finish line, allowing Verstappen to easily cross the finish line and win the race, which was almost certainly going to happen.
