(Monza) After equaling the number of straight wins set by German Sebastian Vettel, the untouchable Max Verstappen has the opportunity to claim a 10th consecutive Formula 1 victory in Italy on Sunday, more than any other driver before him.
Winner last week at home in the Netherlands, the Dutchman equaled the record of four-time world champion Vettel (nine consecutive victories) ten years old.
“I never thought I would win nine in a row, but now that we’re here, of course I’m going to try to win ten,” he told reporters around the circuit. Monza. “That’s a crazy number, but I’m not too focused on it either.”
If he did not win on Sunday, the counters would be reset and the double defending champion would have to wait until next season to hope to break this record.
In Monza’s “Temple of Speed”, well fast – or lucky! – will be the ones who manage to dominate the unsinkable “Mad Max”.
In the championship, the question is no longer whether Verstappen will be crowned for the third time in his career – but rather when: before the meeting in Monza, 138 points separate Verstappen from his runner-up and team-mate Sergio Pérez – while 258 points can still be gleaned from the last nine races of the season.
“At Monza it will be mostly about getting the podium we deserved last weekend,” defended Pérez, the best of the “others” overall.
Due to a five-second penalty received in the Netherlands, the Mexican, initially 3rd in the race, dropped to 4th place.
Behind, watch out for the Bull of Asturias! Second last Sunday, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) found his way back to the podium after four scarcity races. At 42, the double world champion, 3rd in the drivers’ championship, has never been closer to his 33rd GP victory than this season.
In front of its fans deprived of the constructor title since 2008 and pilot since 2007 (with Kimi Raïkkönen), the Scuderia Ferrari, only 4th in the constructors’ championship, will aim for “perfection”.
Or at least the podium: “Charles (Leclerc) and Carlos (Sainz) are two of the best drivers in the world and we must give them the means to express their talent”, assured Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur.
For lack of success for the moment in F1 this season, the Tifosi expected this weekend will however be able to admire a special livery, variegated with yellow on the usual red, in the colors of the Ferrari hypercar victorious at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June. .
The opportunity also “to celebrate the DNA of the company in motor racing” – yellow being the original color of the Scuderia.
The Lombard route could also be the time to see an outsider shine, like the Australian Daniel Ricciardo in 2021, who had offered McLaren its first success since 2012.
Now holder at AlphaTauri instead of the Dutchman Nyck de Vries, Ricciardo will however miss the Italian round. Victim of a broken hand during testing last Friday in the Netherlands, he will again be replaced by New Zealander Liam Lawson.
Among the French, Pierre Gasly will certainly have in mind the 2020 Italian GP, the scene of his first victory in the premier class – at the wheel of an AlphaTauri.
Although he has never won a Grand Prix since then, the Normand scored his first podium at the weekend with the Alpine team, which he joined at the start of the season. Taking advantage of the penalty inflicted on Pérez, he recovered 3rd place, bringing comfort to the French team which is going through a difficult period.
Thursday, the 14th round of the season (out of 22) was the occasion for the one who holds in Monza – with the legend Michael Schumacher – the greatest number of victories, to announce to continue his adventure with Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton, seven-time F1 world champion, has extended his contract with the Mercedes team for two years, until the end of the 2025 season. Until then, the 38-year-old driver will team up with his compatriot George Russell.
