It was a one-two finish for Red Bull Racing on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix, which was held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and served as round 15 of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was the first to cross the finish line, with teammate Sergio Perez finishing six seconds behind. Rounding out the top three places was Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who finished a little more than 11 seconds behind the winner.
Verstappen's win was his 10th in a row, which is a new record. The previous record of nine wins was set by Sebastian Vettel, while also driving for Red Bull.
Sainz started the race on the pole position and didn't fumble the start despite having the pressure of Verstappen also at the front of the grid. Behind them was fellow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who managed to stay ahead of second-row mate Mercedes-Benz AMG's George Russell. The third- and fourth-place starters kept the pressure on the race leaders for the first few laps.
2023 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix
Verstappen then made a series of attempts to take the lead spot, even setting a fastest lap early on, though Sainz managed to defend comfortably for the most part. Then, on lap 16, Verstappen provoked a mistake from Sainz in Turn 1, where the Ferrari driver locked up the brakes. Verstappen took the outside of the Curva Grand to draw level on the following straight and then claimed the lead under braking into Turn 4.
From there Verstappen was in control of the race, only losing the lead during a tire change. He reclaimed the top spot on lap 25 from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who had stayed out longer than most. Verstappen easily passed Hamilton with the use of the Drag Reduction System, and Sainz and then Leclerc also passed Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Perez was slowly making his way up the order after starting the race fifth on the grid. He finally passed Leclerc on lap 31 and then Sainz on lap 46 to move into second. That left Sainz and Leclerc to battle it out for third. A huge lockup for Leclerc into the first chicane on the last lap finally determined the result.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen now leads the 2023 Drivers' Championship with 364 points. Perez is second with 219 points and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is third with 170 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull leads with 583 points followed by Mercedes in second with 273 points and Ferrari overtaking Aston Martin for third, with 228 points. The next race on the calendar is the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks.
2023 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +6.064 seconds
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +11.193 seconds
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +11.377 seconds
5) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +23.028 seconds
6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +42.679 seconds
7) Alexander Albon, Williams +45.106 seconds
8) Lando Norris, McLaren +45.449 seconds
9) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +46.294 seconds
10) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +64.056 seconds
11) Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri +70.638 seconds
12) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +73.074 seconds
13) Logan Sargeant, Williams +78.557 seconds
14) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +80.16 seconds
15) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +82.510 seconds
16) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +87.266 seconds
17) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +1 lap
18) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
NC) Esteban Ocon, Alpine – DNF
NC) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri – DNS
