Max Verstappen makes history with his tenth victory in a row
Max Verstappen made history on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy. The 25-year-old won his tenth race in a row, breaking the record for most wins in a row in F1 history.
Verstappen started the race a bit sluggish, with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari taking top spot at the start. It took the reigning champion 15 laps to get past the Spaniard. Verstappen had already told his team after six laps that Sainz’s tires were sliding as he bided his time. However, the driver from Hasselt was having his patience tested as he said, “They have a lot of top speed, for f*** sake.” This came after Charles Leclerc had started to get close to Verstappen, with both Ferrari drivers keeping Verstappen on his toes.
Once Verstappen took the lead, it was clear to all involved that he would not be caught. He made the gap 5 seconds within just a lap after taking the lead.
He did have to retake the lead on one occasion in the race due to Red Bull calling him in for a pitstop. It was not long until Verstappen had retaken the lead of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
Verstappen had equaled Sebastian Vettel’s record for most wins in a row last week in Zandvoort. Verstappen’s run of wins started at the US Grand Prix in Miami on May 7th. After that, he won in Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands and now Italy.
It was another one-two for Red Bull as Sergio Perez finished second, with Carlos Sainz giving the largely Ferrari-supporting crowd some joy by finishing third. Verstappen has 365 points now and is close to his third championship.
