Sunny. Dry. Air +29C, highway +43C
In a few days it got quite wet on the North Sea coast in the cold Dutch Zandvoort, Formula 1 completed the European part of the season in warm Italy. The race day was the hottest of the weekend, with temperatures approaching 30 degrees, making it difficult to keep the cars cool as everyone on the fast track wanted to achieve minimal drag.
Carlos Sainz became the hope of the tifosi over the weekend. He set the fastest time on Friday, topped Saturday’s practice list and won qualifying. But Verstappen was also there and lost only 13 thousandths in the decisive attempt.
Sainz and Verstappen started the race from the front row of the grid, Leclerc and Russell from second, Perez and Albon from third.
For the second time this season, Pirelli used an ‘alternative tire selection’ by reducing the number of sets. C3 was used as Hard, C4 became Medium and C5 became Soft. In the race, Hamilton, Bottas and Magnussen started on Hard, the rest opted for Medium.
Yuki Tsunoda stopped the car on the track on the warm-up lap before the start due to engine problems. Race officials announced an extra warm-up lap and then delayed the start until Tsunoda’s car was evacuated.
The racers lined up on the starting field. There was a problem with the starting stop light, the mechanics were allowed onto the track and put up thermal covers. The pause continued. Just twenty minutes after the original start time, the riders moved into the third warm-up lap. The distance of the race was reduced to 51 laps.
Sainz kept the lead at the start, Piastri overtook Elbon. Hulkenberg gained two positions back, Norris overtook Hamilton.
On the second lap, Albon overtook Piastri for sixth.
Top ten in the second round: Sainz – Verstappen – Leclerc – Russell – Perez – Albon – Piastri – Norris – Hamilton – Hulkenberg.
On lap 8, Alonso overtook Hulkenberg for 10th.
Verstappen tried to attack Sainz several times, but the speed difference was not enough to complete the maneuver even with help from DRS.
On lap 11 Gasly changed tires, on lap 12 – Zhou, on lap 13 – Magnussen.
Lawson beat Hulkenberg for 11th.
On lap 14, Pérez overtook Russell but cut the corner and regained position.
On lap 15, Sainz blocked the rubber on the brake, Verstappen took the lead, led the race – and immediately managed to pull away.
Hulkenberg and Sargent pitted.
On lap 16, Perez overtook Russell for fourth. Albon made a pit stop.
Top ten in round 17: Verstappen – Sainz – Leclerc – Perez – Russell – Piastri – Norris – Hamilton – Alonso – Bottas.
On lap 20 Sainz and Russell pitted, on lap 21 Verstappen, Leclerc and Stroll, on lap 22 Perez and Alonso, on lap 23 Norris, on 24 Piastri.
The McLaren racers touched their wheels in a battle for position, but kept moving.
Russell got ahead of Okon after going off track and was given a five second time penalty.
On lap 25, Verstappen overtook the leading man but edged out Hamilton to take the lead.
On lap 25 Ocon changed tires, on lap 26 Bottas.
On lap 27, Sainz, Leclerc and Perez were ahead of Hamilton – and Lewis spun into the pits.
On lap 29, Hamilton overtook Alonso for ninth.
Top ten in round 30: Verstappen – Sainz – Leclerc – Perez – Russell – Albon – Norris – Piastri – Hamilton – Alonso.
On lap 31 Pérez attacked Leclerc for third place, contact was made but both drivers continued. Sergio took the lead on lap 32.
On lap 32 Gasly changed tires, on lap 34 Lawson, Zhou and Magnussen changed tires.
On lap 38, Norris overtook Elbon off the track and regained his position.
On lap 40, Lawson overtook Okon for 15th.
On lap 41, Hulkenberg changed tires and Okon pitted and retired.
Hamilton and Piastri touched wheels battling for position, Oscar pitted to replace a damaged front wing and Lewis was handed a five-second time penalty.
On lap 43, Bottas overtook Sargent for 10th. Logan received a five-second time penalty for dangerous actions.
On lap 45, Pérez overtook Sainz, went off track and regained position. Hamilton overtook Norris.
On lap 46, Pérez overtook Sainz for second.
On lap 47, Leclerc was ahead of Sainz, but Carlos came back immediately and they kept fighting. Hamilton overtook Albon.
On the last lap, the Ferrari drivers almost collided for position for the third time, but Sainz stayed ahead of Leclerc.
Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix with his 47th career victory, 12th of the season and tenth in a row. It is the fifteenth victory in a row for Red Bull Racing. Sergio Perez finished second, Red Bull’s sixth double of the season.
Carlos Sainz finished third, his first podium of the season.
The battle will continue in Singapore in two weeks.
Racing results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | – | 240,318 | 1 |
| 2. C. Perez | Red Bull | +6,064 | 239,989 | 1 |
| 3. K. Sainz | Ferrari | +11,193 | 239,711 | 1 |
| 4. Sh. Leclerc | Ferrari | +11,377 | 239,701 | 1 |
| 5. D. Russell * | Mercedes | +23.028 | 239,073 | 1 |
| 6. L. Hamilton * | Mercedes | +42,679 | 238.020 | 1 |
| 7. A. Albon | Williams | +45.106 | 237,891 | 1 |
| 8. L. Norris | McLaren | +45,449 | 237,873 | 1 |
| 9. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +46,294 | 237,828 | 1 |
| 10. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +64.056 | 236,886 | 1 |
| 11. L. Lawson | AlphaTauri | +70,038 | 236,539 | 2 |
| 12. O. Piastri * | McLaren | +73,074 | 236,411 | 2 |
| 13. L. Sargent * | Williams | +78,557 | 236.122 | 1 |
| 14. G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | +80,164 | 236,038 | 2 |
| 15. P.Gasly | Alps | +82,510 | 235,915 | 2 |
| 16. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +87,266 | 235,666 | 1 |
| 17. N. Hulkenberg | hare | +1 circle | 235,489 | 2 |
| 18. K. Magnussen | hare | +1 circle | 234,930 | 2 |
* Added 5 seconds to Russell and Piastri’s result for leaving the track and not returning to position
* Added 5 seconds to Hamilton and Sargent’s result due to track incidents
best lapTime: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:25.072 (lap 43, 245.142 km/h)
Reasons for leaving
| Pilot | Team | circles | Cause |
| Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 00 | did not start/engine |
| E Okon | Alps | 40 | mechanical problems |
Championship position: Individual
Championship Position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1 Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 583 |
| = | 2. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 273 |
 |
3 Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 228 |
 |
4. Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes | 217 |
| = | 5 McLaren F1 team | Mercedes | 115 |
| = | 6. BWT Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 73 |
| = | 7Williams Racing | Mercedes | 21 |
| = | 8. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | eleven |
| = | 9. Alfa Romeo F1 team commitment | Ferrari | 10 |
| = | 10 Scuderia Alpha Tauri | Honda RBPT | 3 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
