{"id":11080,"date":"2022-09-11T17:29:25","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T16:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f1vault.co.uk\/?p=11080"},"modified":"2022-09-11T17:29:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T16:29:25","slug":"italian-gp-max-verstappen-wins-at-monza-as-he-looks-for-his-first-opportunity-to-win-the-title-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/italian-gp-max-verstappen-wins-at-monza-as-he-looks-for-his-first-opportunity-to-win-the-title-in-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"ITALIAN GP \u2013 Max Verstappen wins at Monza as he looks for his first opportunity to win the title in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen has won the Italian Grand Prix after the race finished behind the safety car. The Dutchman was leading the race by a comfortable margin when the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo stopped on track between the Lesmos, it was in a difficult position to recover leading to the race being neutralised with three laps to go.<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s title rival Charles Leclerc finish second almost two and a half seconds behind the Dutchman. However, Ferrari operationally had their best race of recent, where the team appeared to work together to try and stop Verstappen from taking his eleventh win of the season.<\/p>\n

Leclerc however during the final stint chipped away steadily at the twenty-five-second lead to finish two seconds behind. Ferrari operationally looked to be at their best after weeks of questionable decision-making, but Verstappen was stronger with the momentum with the car.<\/p>\n

The Red Bull driver charged from seventh during the early laps to find himself in the top three by lap three and from there he managed to pass George Russell before chasing down Leclerc and passing him seven laps after his final stop on lap twenty-five, as he struggled on his tyres.<\/p>\n

Ferrari’s decision to pit Leclerc out of sequence under the virtual safety car on lap twelve committed him to the slower two stop and that wasn\u2019t helped by the fact that Ferrari didn\u2019t have the pace. At both stops Ferrari surrendered the lead to the Dutchman.<\/p>\n

Verstappen said, \u201cYeah we had a great race, on every compound we were quickest and the degradation was really good and we had a really good race car and just controlling the gap in the end as the safety car came out, unfortunately, we didn\u2019t get a race restart but overall we had a really good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leclerc who finished second: “The end was frustrating. I wish we could have gone racing. It’s a shame. I gave my all but we got P2 today. I wish I could\u2019ve won in front of the amazing Tifosi we have here, I just couldn’t today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The closing stages were reminiscent of Abu Dhabi, the marshals being slow to recover the McLaren after an engine failure stopped at the Ascari. That lead to everyone stopping for soft tyres, and a mixed-up field with no time to move the lapped cars out the way.<\/p>\n

Singapore will present Verstappen with his first opportunity to take his second title, Ferrari will be fancied to finish on the podium on a track that should suit Ferrari assuming he does not run into technical problems.<\/p>\n

While Leclerc complained over the radio and there were boos from Ferrari fans at the decision to finish the race behind the Safety Car, there was little doubt that Verstappen and Red Bull deserved the victory.<\/p>\n

Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda found themselves sitting between the two leads when the safety car came out, clearing the lap cars would have taken too long. While the decision will be seen as less controversial than Abu Dhabi, it may have cost the sport a thrilling finish.<\/p>\n

Before Ricciardo stopped on track, Leclerc appeared to be chipping away at Verstappen. Verstappen\u2019s victory in Monza sees him lead Leclerc by a hundred and sixteen points, meaning victory in Singapore at the start of October could see him claim a second world title.<\/p>\n

While Leclerc complained over radio and there were boos from Ferrari fans at the decision to finish the race behind the Safety Car, there was little doubt that Verstappen and Red Bull deserved the victory. It was another race where the top four could have been in contention for victory, after switching to fresh tyres.<\/p>\n

George Russell continued his consistent season to finish third, a smart drive saw him not get involved in the title rivals fight and finished nearly a second behind Leclerc. The Englishman continues to build on the reputation he has built this season, again proving Mercedes have a better race car.<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz was fourth finishing five seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, both drivers producing an excellent race almost working their way from eighteenth and nineteenth to finish in the race three tenths apart. Sergio Perez wasn\u2019t able to make the same progress after his penalty saw him start thirteenth, he had run in fifth before his final stop, but dropped behind Hamilton and Lando Norris.<\/p>\n

Hamilton managed to pull off a double pass on Norris and Pierre Gasly, making a rare move stick in the closing stages. Perez\u2019s race as well looked to be in trouble early on as the Red Bull driver struggled around his first stop with a brake fire.<\/p>\n

Gasly finished eighth and gained a position from Alonso, the Alpine driver retired from the race with an engine issue. It was an excellent debut for Nyck De Vries who scored points after finishing seven-tenths ahead of Guanyu Zhou.<\/p>\n

The Formula E champion making his debut drove a controlled race to take advantage of penalties to finish ninth, de Vries equalling Williams\u2019s best result of the season. He will be hoping that leads to him getting a race seat in 2023.<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon finished eleventh two-tenths ahead of Mick Schumacher, the two drivers the last on the lead lap. Valtteri Bottas was thirteenth ahead of Nicolas Latifi, Kevin Magnussen the final finishers.<\/p>\n

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