Win pulled Red Bull racer to within two victories off all-time record for a single season.
- Verstappen’s Title Cruise Continues
- No Restart a Shame—But That’s the Rule
- Stand-in de Vries Stars in Job Audition
- Excellent Schumacher Goes Unrewarded
- F1 Italian Grand Prix
- Updated Points Standings
- Constructors’ Championship
Max Verstappen made it five Formula 1 race wins in a row and 11 for the season with victory in the F1 Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at Monza.
Autoweek rounds up the main talking points from the F1 race day:
Verstappen’s Title Cruise Continues
It is now mathematically possible that Verstappen can clinch his second world title at the next race on the schedule, October 2 at Singapore.
That should be little surprise, given Verstappen stretched his advantage to 116 points after a fifth successive victory, and 11th of the season, at Monza. Verstappen started Sunday’s only seventh after an engine penalty. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, race-runner-up in Italy and second in the points standings, was on the pole.
Verstappen made his way to fourth on the first lap, and that quickly became third when he passed Daniel Ricciardo. George Russell was easy pickings for second.
Ferrari’s response to a Virtual Safety Car period caused by Sebastian Vettel’s stoppage committed them to a two-stop strategy with initial leader Leclerc, but Verstappen stayed out and ran the usual—and faster—one-stop approach. From there the die was cast, leaving Verstappen first and Leclerc second.
Ricciardo’s stoppage prompted a Safety Car that promised a mad dash to the line but, unlike on past occasions, the FIA followed the regulations to the letter and there was insufficient time for a true restart.
There was a lot of booing and jeering for Verstappen as he appeared on the podium (little surprise given it was Ferrari’s home race) and the crowd’s chants for Leclerc almost drowned out the anthems. But that was water off a duck’s back for Verstappen as title two moves into view.
The F1 field in Italy follows the Safety Car on Sunday at Monza.
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No Restart a Shame—But That’s the Rule
The Italian Grand Prix was not a thriller and the late Safety Car period promised a tantalizing late shootout, but it never materialized.
Daniel Ricciardo’s stricken car, in an awkward position on the track, became stuck in gear while marshals attempted to remove it. That meant a tractor was needed, which could only be deployed once the field had bunched behind the Safety Car.
Eventually the track was clear on for Lap 52 of the 53-lap race. Per the regulations, the ‘Safety Car in this lap’ message can only be issued the following time around. In effect, it was bad timing, but the regulations were followed.
In a statement, the FIA outlined that ‘as the safety of the recovery operation is our only priority, and the incident was not significant enough to require a red flag, the race ended under safety car following the procedures agreed between the FIA and all competitors.’ It was further stressed that ‘The timing of the safety car period within a race has no bearing on this procedure’.
Essentially, the regulations were followed, and the FIA will always prioritise safety over entertainment – as it should be. The issue, for a sport that is entertainment, is that it creates a huge anti-climax in the (albeit rare) occasion that a race finishes behind the Safety Car.
“There are rules and they are written down and from my perspective, whether I’m Abu Dhabi traumatized or not, these rules have been followed to the dot today,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “There was a car out on track, there was marshals, and a crane out there. That’s why they didn’t let anybody overtake. And then it was not enough time to restart the race once all cars crashed out.
“So if one is not happy with the regulations, and you want to have a big bang show and two laps of racing and mayhem, I think I’m absolutely up for it. But then we need to change the regulations.”
Nyck de Vries finally got his shot on Sunday with Williams.
ANPGetty Images
Stand-in de Vries Stars in Job Audition
Nyck de Vries’ name has been circling around the F1 paddock for several years, and this season he has fulfilled the young driver practice quota for a few teams.
De Vries was having coffee on Saturday morning when he received notification that Alexander Albon had been sidelined by a bout of appendicitis and he would be making his F1 debut. De Vries, 27, stepped into the FW44 for the remainder of the weekend and put in an exceptional display considering his lack of experience.
De Vries qualified in 13th place, ahead of experienced teammate Nicholas Latifi, but was shuffled forward to eighth on the grid due to a range of penalties elsewhere. De Vries appeared every bit the experienced midfield racer, rather than a rookie, throughout the 53-lap race.
The Dutchman managed a Soft/Medium tire strategy and was in the top 10 on merit, shadowing AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly prior to the Safety Car period that neutralized the race, caused by the exit of Daniel Ricciardo. That left de Vries ninth, picking up two points on debut, to already clear full-season racer Latifi in the standings.
Williams has a vacancy for 2023 and if Monza was an unexpected job interview then “Driver of the Day” de Vries passed with flying colors. He received congratulatory hugs from both compatriot Verstappen and teammate (de Vries is Mercedes’ reserve) Lewis Hamilton post-race.
“The whole of the last 24 hours have just been a dream,” said de Vries. “I had a very bad sleep, it went from excitement into nerves and I didn’t dare even look into my sleep tracking because basically I spent the whole night awake! But perhaps it helped me. I couldn’t think and I just had to get on with the job.
“This world is very volatile and it’s not only merit [that] counts,” said de Vries. “So, it’s out of my control. But this no one can take away from me, so regardless of the future whether I’m here or not, I can look back on a proud debut and first moment in Formula 1. I enjoyed it.”
Mick Schumacher finished 12th in Italy.
Eric AlonsoGetty Images
Excellent Schumacher Goes Unrewarded
Haas’ Mick Schumacher had a quietly impressive, yet ultimately unrewarding, weekend as he continues to fight for his Formula 1 future.
Schumacher sat out FP1, while Antonio Giovinazzi ran in his place, and had problems that limited his running in both FP2 and FP3. Haas’ VF-22 was also no competitive at the low-downforce circuit, particularly in a straight line, but an aggressive strategy lifted Schumacher to 12th, with points potentially on the table had the race restarted.
“Considering I haven’t really driven much this weekend and had a difficult qualifying, to then actually be close to the points, I think mentally already being in the points, it was a strong recovery,” said Schumacher.
Team boss Guenther Steiner said that “Mick did a fantastic job to get P12 considering his lack of time on track this weekend and our expected pace at this circuit.”
Kevin Magnussen was less fortunate, having suffered diffuser damage after being rear-ended into the first chicane by Valtteri Bottas. Magnussen was given a time penalty for chicane-cutting in the aftermath, an aspect that angered Steiner.
“He got a penalty because he couldn’t stay on the racing line but with the rear wheels up it’s difficult to stay on the racing line, I don’t think the penalty is appropriate,” said Steiner.
F1 Italian Grand Prix
Results
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 53 laps
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +2.446 seconds
- George Russell, Mercedes, +3.405
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, +5.061
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +5.380
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +6.091
- Lando Norris, McLaren, +6.207
- Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, +6.396
- Nyck de Vries, Williams, +7.122
- Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo, +7.910
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +8.323
- Mick Schumacher, Haas, +8.549
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, +1 lap
- Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, +1 lap
- Nicholas Latifi, Williams, +1 lap
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +1 lap
- Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, +7 laps
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +13 laps
- Fernando Alonso, Alpine, +21 laps
- Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, +42 laps
Updated Points Standings
- Max Verstappen 335
- Charles Leclerc 219
- Sergio Perez 210
- George Russell 203
- Carlos Sainz 187
- Lewis Hamilton 168
- Lando Norris 88
- Esteban Ocon 66
- Fernando Alonso 59
- Valtteri Bottas 46
- Pierre Gasly 22
- Kevin Magnussen 22
- Sebastian Vettel 20
- Daniel Ricciardo 19
- Mick Schumacher 12
- Yuki Tsunoda 11
- Guanyu Zhou 6
- Lance Stroll 5
- Alex Albon 4
- Nyck de Vries 2
- Nicholas Latifi 0
- Nico Hulkenberg 0
Constructors’ Championship
- Red Bull 545
- Ferrari 406
- Mercedes 371
- Alpine 125
- McLaren 107
- Alfa Romeo 52
- Haas 34
- AlphaTauri 33
- Aston Martin 25
- Williams 6
Keyword: F1 Italian GP Winner Max Verstappen Chasing History with 11th Win of the Season